Opinion: Orange is the new abortion

 

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I feel shame. In 2016, the country that I grew up in is handing out sentences to criminals, as it should, however, women desperate enough to take abortion pills are included in this category.

Recent headlines recounting the sentencing of a young woman for doing just this, have tarnished the reputation of Northern Ireland internationally, even further (let’s not forget that the province also holds the inglorious distinction of being the only country in the United Kingdom where same-sex marriage is illegal). The laws of the province make introducing oneself as Northern Irish abroad an embarrassment, not that there has often been reason for pride in the past. Recently, dividing walls & riots over flags include what comes to foreigners’ minds at the mention of the place. Having one’s homeland viewed as a backwards and bigoted backwater, unwilling to heed guidelines from international bodies, and unable to move beyond age-old fractions, is tiresome.

There is apparently a section of Northern Irish society, proud of jarring with the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights: General Comment 28 by the CCPR declares that traditional, religious or cultural attitudes should not be employed to justify violations of women’s right to equality.

Pro-life propaganda circulated, at points, in the Catholic secondary school I attended: I remember feeling stupefied when confronted with the extremist standpoints of pupils my age, justified with religious beliefs. These were people content having their fundamental beliefs dictated to them by an institution, out of touch with modern guidelines on the rights of individuals.

In an interview with the Belfast Telegraph last week, a housemate of the aforementioned young woman stated that her choice to go to the authorities, did not relate to the rights and wrongs of abortion. Her motivation allegedly came from her view that the way it was carried out was wrong. It was wrong. It is wrong that for lack of financial means, women who find themselves with an unwanted pregnancy, are criminalised. The agency should lie with the woman in question.

It is important that NI look at itself in an international context, which it often fails to do. Northern Irish women will still give birth when the law changes, but some will not. All will, however, have the opportunity to decide that for themselves, just as they do in other democratic, western european nations, including the rest of the UK. Let’s empower women in the province, rather than deny them basic rights, by investing power in those who strive for change.