The report released last week by Human Rights Watch on Abortion and Ireland was not covered on RTE news. I still have not figured out why programmes and editors ignored it. There was coverage in the national newspapers and TV3. The Guardian also gave significant coverage to the findings.
In terms of international TV news, France 24 gave 10 minutes to a special report, interview with Human Rights Watch staff and analysis from their Irish correspondent. You can watch it here.
Maybe it’s because much of the content wasn’t viewed as new-News to the folks at RTE but it plays nicely with the folks at the Guardian and France 24 (they’re fierce backward those Oirish). Or alternately RTe are planning a big old Prime Time Investigates on the topic.
“The women interviewed by Human Rights Watch described a climate of fear and shame, at least in part attributable to the criminalization of abortion. They explained their concerns about disclosing that they had had an abortion and the burden of secrecy that they are forced to carry.” It might shock people but not everyone in the UK would be disclosing to all and sundry that they had an abortion either and I’m not at all clear there is a “climate of fear and shame” there. The degree to which this “climate of fear and shame” is “attributable to the criminalization of abortion” is highly subjective.
I acknowledge that for most readers here access to abortion services would be regarded as a basic human right that is not something that is universally recognised. Many people would prefer that it was but it isn’t, and that’s part of the reality that people need to face up to.
As for the cost aspect, I’m not quite sure what comparison is being used when it comes to “organising travel”. If abortion was legal in Ireland in the morning there would still be issues of “organising travel” and cost as there wouldn’t be that many places where it would take place. Even the UK wouldn’t have a clinic in every major town. Taking a highly general comparison but Marie Stopes would only have 9 clinics in England. I’m aware they aren’t the only ones providing a service but the notion that issues of travel are solely down the current situation are not telling the whole story. The likelihood is you’d have a clinic in Dublin, Cork and maybe somewhere in the west and that’s it. And given the desire by many women for privacy in this area, I suspect many would not use the service closest to them because of that problem (which is not confined to Ireland) of bumping into people you know when you least expect it.
If push comes to shove I think that I’m of the safe, legal and rare view myself but I think that the focus on abortion is the wrong one. The real problem isn’t abortion it’s pregnancies that aren’t wanted. Eliminate that and the need for abortions almost disappears. But that’s the work of a generation, and no one is as interested in the long term.
Or it could be something to do with the numerous friends of the Catholic Church with RTE? Is it just me or does anyone else notice a PR machine at work lately on RTE on behalf of the Catholic Church? Bishops talking about their golf game and people taking about their priestly friends.
Yet apparently they can cover the financial indicators tonight in some depth (all comments were a work of fiction straight out of Lenny’s mouth too). Not surprised that there’s no “talkies with Ms Doyle” about the a-word…