By: Dawn Purvis
There are groups within Northern Ireland who would argue that abortion is always wrong. There are others who would argue that it is only wrong in certain circumstances and others still who say it is a matter of choice for the woman concerned. Who determines whether abortion is right or wrong and do they have the authority to make that judgement?
The issue of abortion in Northern Ireland has always been both emotive and controversial. Traditionally, as history has shown, politics and religious views overlap somewhat when it comes to decision-making or the introduction of social policy. An example of this would be the age of consent for what is deemed adult sex whether it is for heterosexuals or homosexuals.
In both cases the law differs in Northern Ireland compared to that in the rest of the United Kingdom i.e. 16 years of age for heterosexuals in Great Britain (GB) and 16 years of age for homosexuals. Compare that to 17 years of age for heterosexuals in Northern Ireland and if the current Bill to lower the age of consent for homosexuals, passes through Parliament, it will not be reduced to 16 years of age as in GB, it will be lowered to that of heterosexuals in Northern Ireland i.e. 17 years of age.
The fact that differentials exist, it could be argued, is because of the influence that churches have in Northern Ireland over our politicians.
In 1984, the now defunct Northern Ireland Assembly debated a motion opposing the extension of the 1967 Abortion Act or anything similar to Northern Ireland. The religious influence with the politicians is reflected in sections of the debate such as “we have to leave the question of deformity in the providence of Almighty God”; “Parents should accept what God has ordained”; “If a deformed child is born after rape it ought to be accepted as the will of God”. (FPA, 1997)
More recently, two Private Member Bills calling for the extension of the 1967 Act, failed to achieve the required fifty signatories.
One of the sponsors, Mr Harry Barnes, a Labour MP was reported to have said that no Bill would succeed without the support of the 18 Northern Ireland MP’s, who incidentally are all male and include a Presbyterian Minister.
In 1990 during one of the debates, Virginia Bottomley, Secretary of State for Health said that “Abortion is offensive to the overwhelming majority of those in the province… there is no will in Northern Ireland for such change”. (FPA, 1997) Mrs Bottomley obviously ignored the fact that 56,000 women have travelled from Northern Ireland to England for abortions since 1967. (FPA, 1997)
One could conclude that because the Northern Ireland MP’s think abortion is wrong – then there should be no legislation governing such practice.
The law surrounding abortion in Northern Ireland is certainly ambiguous, it is based on the 1929 Infant Life (Preservation) Act which was subsequently enacted for Northern Ireland in 1945 as the Criminal Justice (NI) Act.
The Act states that a person would be found guilty of “child destruction” if they destroyed “the life of a child capable of being born alive”. (FPA, 1997) This was presumed to mean that abortion was illegal after the 28th week of pregnancy but there was no clarity as to what happened in the first 27 weeks – was it legal or illegal to perform an abortion?
Another section of the Act stated if the abortion was performed “in good faith” to save the life of the mother, then no person would be found guilty. This is very similar to the views of Protestant churches on the issue of abortion i.e. that abortion should be allowed to save the life of the mother.
In 1938, Dr Alex Bourne challenged the law in England in relation to abortion when it was not necessary to save a woman from actual death. Dr Bourne had carried out an abortion on a 14 year-old rape victim. He testified in court that had the young woman been forced to continue with the pregnancy, she would have become “a mental and physical wreck”. The judge acquitted Dr Bourne stating that the law should be interpreted in “a reasonable sense” and that the doctors opinion and “knowledge of probable consequences” should be viewed as his “operating for the purpose of preserving the life of the mother”. (FPA, 1997)
This became known as the ‘Bourne Judgement’ and entered into English case law as a precedent. It could now be argued that the grounds for abortion were extended to include the mental and physical well-being of the woman.
The 1967 Abortion Act was introduced to resolve the ambiguity of the existing laws. The Act was not extended to Northern Ireland although abortion is available under certain circumstances and is known as therapeutic. There are no official statistics and because doctors impose their individual judgements, availability can vary depending on that judgement.
In a survey conducted by C Francome in 1992, Northern Ireland’s gynaecologists were asked to record their views and practice on abortion. There were conflicting positions taken by a few and just under half had a conscientious objection but the overall majority said they would carry out abortions – a clear indication, in my opinion, that gynaecologists do not think that abortion is always wrong.
GP’s in Northern Ireland are of a similar position. When surveyed in 1994, 70% of the respondents said that “the decision as to whether or not to continue a pregnancy should be left to the woman in consultation with her doctor”. (FPA, 1997) The British Medical Association has expressed its support for the retention and extension of the 1967 Abortion Act.
Public attitudes in Northern Ireland have changed considerably over the last number of years with recorded increases in the level of support for abortion at the request of the woman i.e. 25% in 1992 to 30% in 1994. On all grounds, Protestants are more likely to support legal abortion than Catholics e.g. in cases of severe handicap, 74% of Protestants as against 39% of Catholics. On the grounds of sexual assault or the physical or mental health of the woman, a majority of Catholics supported in each case. (FPA, 1997)
The attitudes of Protestants in the surveys, closely resembles the view of the main Protestant churches i.e. that abortion can be justified in cases where there is a threat to the mother’s life or well-being or in cases of rape or incest.
Catholic attitudes vary somewhat from their churches view. The Catholic Church believes abortion to be morally wrong in every case although this was not the view until the late 19th Century. Before that, a female child could be aborted before the ‘quickening’ (i.e. feeling movement) but not a male child. The ‘quickening’ was regarded as the moment of ‘ensoulment’ and occurred on the 40th day for the male child and the 80th day for the female child. (C Coppens, Moral Principles and Medical Practice)
This view changed when the church ruled that “the embryonic child has a human soul, and therefore is a man from the time of its conception”. (Tribunal of the Holy Office, 1889) No exceptions exist in the Catholic Churches view that abortion is wrong even in cases where the mother’s life is at risk. The Tribunal of the Holy Office indicated in March 1902 “that no action is lawful which directly destroys foetal life” even if the mother is in “immediate danger of death”. (C Coppens)
Sally McMulkin concluded in her analysis of the 1989 Northern Ireland Social Attitudes Survey “that religious affiliation is a large influence in determining attitudes to abortion”. (1993, P.38) This is certainly reflected in the various surveys conducted over recent years in Northern Ireland.
But what of the woman’s view?
In May 1980 the ‘Northern Ireland Abortion Campaign’ was set up after the death of a woman as a direct result of a back street abortion. Campaigners set about trying to gain the extension of the 1967 Act to Northern Ireland. They did not succeed in this but the campaign did raise the issue in public debate. Since the 1990’s another group has formed to campaign not only for legislation but also to raise the issue for debate; this group is called ‘Alliance for Choice’.
To date they have succeeded in hi-lighting the issue but there has been no proper, informed debate. A measure of their success so far has been the formation of anti-abortion groups such as ‘Precious Life’ based in Ballymena, Northern Ireland’s ‘Bible belt’ (so named for the concentration of deeply religious people). This group uses similar ‘shock’ tactics to promote their campaign as have been used by various American extremists.
They recently circulated a video tape entitled “The Truth about Abortion”. In it, American anti-abortion campaigners talk and show shocking scenes of abortion practice. The United States permit abortion up to full-term pregnancy i.e. 40 weeks. The scenes shown in this video were of ‘late’ abortions. Abortion in the UK is only permitted up to and including the 22nd week of pregnancy.
There is no doubt that groups like Precious Life are engaged in a propaganda war aimed at winning the hearts and minds of the people of Northern Ireland, using whatever means necessary. Their recent advertising campaign caused a storm of protest from pro-choice groups and family planning professionals who accused Precious Life of “encouraging back street abortions”. (Sunday World, 21 March 1999) Those opposed to the tactics employed by Precious Life, called for an informed debate on the issue to be conducted in a calm and rational environment.
Whatever the views of the churches, medics, pro or anti groups, abortion practice is a reality as Audrey Simpson of the Family Planning Association pointed out, “This is a service that women will always access”. (Sunday World, 21 March 1999)
Whilst the government holds the authority in determining whether abortion is right or wrong in legal terms, the influence of the churches can still be a deciding factor for many women. Of the 2,000 women (FPA,1997) from Northern Ireland who travel to England every year for an abortion, whether people tell them it is wrong or not, it is obviously right for them.
I am sure for every woman who chooses to terminate a pregnancy, there are many who choose not to. Without properly collated statistics, it is impossible to tell. What is important, at the end of it all, churches, politicians, public opinion aside, a woman chooses whether abortion is right or wrong for herself.
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