Equal Lives?

I recently had the privilege to visit Muckamore Abbey Hospital to listen to some of the adult patients 'Tell it like it is'.

It is not easy talking to a large group of people and if you have learning difficulties it can be much more challenging. The seven patients who presented their views on things that are important to them, not only told us politicians and policy-makers how life is for them, they cut through the usual hot air and told us what sort of future they wanted.

At present some are sleeping in a dormatory with other patients with doors locked at night; they cannot go to the shop on their own; they feel trapped. Some patients have been here over ten years and have been on a discharge list for the last while.

What the patients see as important to them is somewhere nice to live, a flat, house or bungalow, near family and friends and some help with medicines and money. Also a place to learn new skills or even better, a job. More especially, they would like a say in their own care, in their own future. Not much to ask for...

Why should our fellow human beings be asking for things that the rest of us take for granted?

Our Executive has given a commitment in the Programme for Government to move people from institutional care back into the community where they should be. As each patient asked - why is it taking so long?

Déjà vu

So a cross-party group of MPs have laid an amendment to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill that will extend the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland. If the amendment is passed in the autumn it will mean equality at last for women in this part of the United Kingdom. It will mean that women will not have to beg, borrow and put themselves in debt to access what is effectively a health service. It will mean that women will have access to safe and legal abortions. I really do hope that the amendment will go through but...I have a nagging doubt. Call me cynical.

Naturally the DUP, in the shape of Jeffrey Donaldson, Junior Minister in the department charged with promoting and upholding equality (one wonders for whom), objected strongly to the amendment on the grounds that the public here are opposed to abortion (not that public opinion has ever been tested through referendum and I am not aware of any political party apart from the PUP ever having their policy on abortion included in an election manifesto).

Similarly the SDLP, as their theology dictates, have also objected to the amendment but have argued that the devolution of policing and justice would mean that the Assembly would have the power over whether or not the 1967 Act is introduced. In other words - let's get devolution and then you can sort the issue out yourselves. Could the NIO be at their work? Peter Hain and water charges spring to mind...