The American feminist Gloria Steinem was interviewed deferentially on British TV a few days ago. She appeared compos mentis and in good physical shape at 81 years old. She said that she had had an (illegal) abortion in Britain when she was 23 and that it was for her “a life-changing experience.”
But she appears to be such a solipsist that it never occurred to her that it was a human life-ending experience for someone else.
A day or two later Ivana Bacik and one other,wrote in THE IRISH TIMES that the 8th Amendment to Ireland’s Constitution “had cast a blight on a generation.”
I think that in Ireland the word blight recalls the deaths of millions of human beings, most of whose births and deaths were never individuallyrecorded in any paper of record, and whose opinions would never have been accepted for publication in an organ of the bien pensant bourgeoisie.
The 8th Amendment was enacted by citizens to preserve and protect human life from arbitrary destruction. To pretend otherwise is nonsense.
A while back a healthy, 24-year-old woman from Cork complained about having to travel to London to have an abortion because shewould have preferred to have it done locally and “to be at home cuddling my dog now, in my own bed.” She was the focus of anabortion- promoting media circus featuring Kitty Holland of THE IRISH TIMES and a BBC 3 TVprogramme “Abortion: Ireland’s Guilty Secret?”
Seems that if you lie down with dogs you get up with the BBC.
The programme claimed that the woman, “Tara” and her partner Steve “took 2 weeks to raise almost 1,000 Euro for the journey,accommodation and procedure.”
I wonder how much money they needed to buy the advertising they got in the media. Or am I asking the right question?
It seems to me that the BBC, by focussing on the woman’s journey, but not showing “the procedure” were staging Hamlet without the Prince of Denmark, or even presenting an omelette without depicting the breaking of eggs.
“Tara” and Steve took part in the documentary,“she says ‘because someone needs to share their story.There are women going over daily for abortion,but still it’s something nobody will talk about,’ she told THE IRISH TIMES”
Well Tara, you got me talkin’.
taras story does need shared albeit in a court of human rights this is were this will be settled.
Everybody wants to see abortions becoming less frequent.
The best way to achieve this is through sensible use of contraceptives. This requires education in the most effective methods and easy access.
Thankfully Ireland seems to be moving away from the grip of the Catholic church and the devout administrations of the likes of Dev, much admired though he is by some!
Contraception, Gio, gives the false illusion that it can act as a 100% full-proof barrier against pregnancy and users of it believe this myth. Most women who habitually use contraception will experience it’s failure at some time in their lives and Planned Parenthood, the organization which is the main supplier of contraceptives and abortion in the states, have statistics which show on average that at least 50% of referrals for abortion to their clinics are due to contraceptive failure. The widespread use of contraception in the western world has bred an anti-life mentality which sustains abortion and has allowed it to spread like a deadly plague across Europe, US and beyond.
Gearoid
If we take away contraception we are left with abstinence. I do not think that is going to work I’m afraid.
Contraceptive failure is due to incorrect use or not choosing the most effective methods.
I do not recognize the anti-life mentality you speak of. People still want families and they will still have babies.
The aim should be to reduce the number of unwanted pregnancies, an aim you must surely support?
Abstinence is a tough ask for many, Gio, perhaps they could try NFP(Natural Family Planning) which allows couples to space out their families without being subject to the negative drawbacks of the modern Pill. This holistic method allows couples to co-operate with the natural reproductive monthly cycle of a woman’s body without seeking to suppress/undermine it. It avoids also the health risks, e.g. breast cancer, cervical cancer, aneurysms, thrombosis associated with prolonged use of the Pill. Above contraception is a lie in itself as it seeks to separate the unitive aspect of a couple’s love from the procreative intent which is the primary function of sex. Those who use birth control for lengthy periods obviously do it to prevent getting pregnant and thus see babies as being inconvenient to their happiness. This in turns develops an anti-life mentality in those who depend on it and abortion is resorted to when there is contraceptive failure. It is like a vicious circle and thus contraception is not the healthy option when it comes to eliminating the scourge of abortion.
Errata in the previous commentary:
“Above contraception is a lie ” should have read “Above all contraception is a lie”
So, it’s tough shit for the unplanned child who can be snuffed out on a whim?
Seems to me the “Pro-Choice” lobby might fairly be dubbed the “Snuff Movement” but they
haven’t the nerve to screen a “Snuff Movie.”