Choice of speakers at Oireachtas Hearings on abortion is biased towards restrictive legislation.

Buttimer must change balance of speakers.

Commenting on the speakers chosen to address the Oireachtas Hearings on the forthcoming abortion legislation, Brendan Young said:

“The choice of speakers to the Oireachtas Hearings on the forthcoming abortion legislation is heavily biased. Amongst the medical and legal speakers, there are ten who are either anti-abortion advocates or who question the appropriateness of legislating for the X Case. By contrast there are only five who support non-restrictive legislation for the X Case or are pro-choice.

Speakers to these hearings are supposedly invited to comment as ‘experts’ on legislation. How can people who have actively campaigned against legislation, who have questioned the X Case ruling, who have asserted that legislating would be either wrong or unnecessary or who have represented the Catholic Church, Youth Defense of the Prolife Campaign be regarded as reliable commentators on legislation that they oppose in principle? Indeed one of these organized a symposium that claimed there was never a medical justification for abortion to save a woman’s life.

There does not appear to be any speaker with international human rights expertise to assess whether the proposed legislation would comply with the ABC Ruling of the European Court of Human Rights or with the European Convention on Human Rights.

We call on the Chair of the Health and Children Committee, Mr. Gerry Buttimer TD, to change the selection of speakers for the Oireachtas Hearings to ensure balance and to reflect the majority public opinion in Irish society – which supports legislation for the X Case and for the right to abortion where pregnancy threatens the health of a woman or in cases of rape and incest. A vocal minority must not be given precedence over the views of the majority”.

Today protesters gathered outside the Shelbourne hotel to voice their opposition against a

Protesters outside allsops auction

property auction organised by auctioneers Allsop. Protesters from both Anti-Eviction Ireland and the Ant-Eviction Task-force allege that many of the properties listed for auction are a result of illegal repossessions.

One of the protesters, Donal, said that the groups had come together against what they see as the immoral “repossession of houses” and “families, husbands, wives and children being evicted onto the street while bondholders were still being paid billions”. He also said that they had hoped hotels would become aware of the issue and not facilitate such auctions. Read more

“What a weary time those years were — to have the desire and the need to live but not the ability.” wrote Charles Bukowski of youth in his work ‘Ham on Rye’. Such a description seems aptly fitting giving the circumstances that the youth and younger generations now find themselves in this country.

A front page report on the Irish Times reveals a startling disparity on the effects of austerity between those over the ages of 45 and those younger. A study by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ERSI) revealed that those under the ages of 45 spent on average 20% less weekly in 2009/2010 compared to five years earlier. In contrast the over 45 age group were spending 31% more on a weekly basis by 2009/2010. If anything, the figures serve to highlight the plight that younger generations face in this country. Read more

Needs of despairing women ignored – lives will be put at risk

Expert Group recommendations ignored

Commenting on the government’s draft bill on abortion, Clare Daly TD and Joan Collins TD called for changes to deal with shortcomings in the Bill:

Clare Daly said:

“Today, May Day, when women have fought for their rights as workers, we are still fighting for our rights as women. I welcome the publication of the government’s proposals for minimal legislation on abortion, but it contains restrictions that will continue to put women’s lives at risk. Read more