Woman Sues Over Abortion Rights

By Mairead Carey

An Irish woman who felt compelled to “secretly transport her fetus” back to Ireland after an abortion in England has begun suing the Irish state.

On Tuesday, the Euro-pean Court of Human Rights held a preliminary hearing in the case which, if successful, will have major implications for the state.

The woman who is in her 30s is known only as “D” to protect her identity. She claims that her inability to obtain an abortion in Ireland was a breach of her human rights.

“D” traveled to Britain for an abortion three years ago after she discovered she was pregnant with twins, both of whom were expected to die.

One fetus stopped developing at eight weeks, and the second had a chromosomal abnormality known as Edward’s Syndrome, which she was told was fatal.

After having the abortion, she felt obliged to tell her local hospital and family doctor that she had had a miscarriage.

The court was told on Tuesday that she felt compelled to “secretly transport her fetus” to Ireland in a small coffin for burial because of restrictions on abortion here.

The “devastating impact” of the diagnosis was exacerbated by restrictions on provision of information and by the necessity to travel abroad for a therapeutic abortion.

Seven judges yesterday began the hearing on the “admissibility and merits” of her case to sue the state.

Her lawyers say that the state is in breach of six articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, including the obligation to respect human rights, the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment and the right to respect for private and family life.

The government is defending the claim on the basis that there is no conflict between the state’s constitutional ban on abortion, except in the case of a threat to a woman’s life, and the European Convention on Human Rights, which does not refer to abortion.