Ireland must face up to the risks Eighth poses – Holles Street Master

THE Master of the National Maternity Hospital believes Ireland needs to face up to the reality of abortion and the serious risks the Eighth Amendment poses to women.

Dr Rhona Mahony also said that the Constitution was abandoning women who are forced to travel to a different jurisdiction for a termination.

She was speaking at the launch of Labour’s campaign to repeal the Eighth Amendment in Dublin yesterday.

Dr Mahony said she currently works in a country that knows backstreet abortions are taking place, but there are no measures to make the treatment safe.

“When you criminalise abortion, you don’t stop it. You merely convert it from being safe and regulated to being dangerous and being unsafe,” Dr Mahony said.

Speaking about the referendum on May 25, she added: “I know this issue is really difficult in this country... because all kinds of issues align; the medical risk, what we feel or what we would like to feel, and then there’s the reality of real life. That’s what we’re charged with.”

The launch was also addressed by a young couple from Dublin who travelled to the UK last year after being told that their baby, Nico, would not survive outside the womb.

Amy Callahan and her partner Conor Upton, members of campaign group Terminations for Medical Reasons, said they both wanted the pregnancy and were devastated to learn that their baby had a fatal condition called anencephaly.

Speaking before the event, Labour party leader Brendan Howlin said the referendum was not yet sealed and urged people to canvas over the next number of weeks in favour of a Yes vote.

“At the moment, women who need healthcare are faced with lawyers and guards, [that’s] not an Ireland of the 21st century.

“I think we now have the opportunity to show that we can be a compassionate and understanding society,” Mr Howlin added.