PUBLISHER'S NOTE: "I have taken on the theme of criminalizing reproduction - a natural theme for a Blog concerned with flawed science in its myriad forms and its flawed devotees (like Charles Smith), as I am utterly opposed to the current movement in the United States and some other countries - thankfully not Canada any more - towards imprisoning women and their physicians on the basis of sham science (or any other basis). Control over their reproductive lives is far too important to women in America - or anywhere else - so they can participate equally in the economic and social life of their nations without fear for loss their freedom at the hands of political opportunists and fanatics. I will continue to follow relevant cases such as Purvi Patel and Bei Bei Shuai - and the mounting wave of legislative attacks aimed at chipping away at Roe V. Wade and ultimately dismantling it."
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog
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EDITORIAL: I would never have believed that the day would come where Northern Ireland would put the USA to shame by decriminalizing its abortion laws while so many U.S. states declare war on abortion and press for the criminalizing of women based on untenable scientific evidence relating to the fetus - and in the face of Rowe V. Wade which the American President has vowed to eliminate. The essence of the news story and commentary which are the subject of this post is that zIreland has finally recognized the need to base its laws on 'compassion' - a trait which appears to be in very short supply in the USA.
Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
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GIST: "A
woman from Northern Ireland who was prosecuted for buying abortion
pills online for her teenage daughter has been formally acquitted after a
landmark reform of the region’s laws. On Tuesday, a judge
directed a jury at Belfast Crown Court to find the mother – who cannot
be named for legal reasons – not guilty. She had been facing two
counts of procuring and supplying the abortion drugs with the intent to
procure a miscarriage. However, abortion was decriminalised in Northern
Ireland at midnight on Monday. In a statement after the ruling, the woman said her emotions “were all over the place”. “For
the first time in six years I can go back to being the mother I was,
without the weight of this hanging over me every minute of every day and
I can finally move on with my life,” she said. “I am so thankful
that the change in the law will allow other women and girls to deal
with matters like this privately in their own family circle.” Her
solicitor Jemma Conlon, of Chambers Solicitors, added: “Today is a day
of immense relief for my client, who now finds herself free from the
burden of this prosecution that has been in her life for six years. “It
is a day that she will forever remember and a day that allows her to
finally move on with her life privately without anguish and
criminalisation.” Meanwhile Grainne Teggart from Amnesty
International, which had been supporting the woman, said the outcome was
evidence of a new “compassionate” legal framework in Northern Ireland. “Today we are relieved that she can go back to being a mother,” she said. “What
we are seeing today is our new abortion law taking effect. No longer
will women be hauled through the courts and treated as criminals for
accessing this healthcare service. “This is the beginning of a new
era for Northern Ireland – a more caring and compassionate Northern
Ireland. This mother is now free to move on from this ordeal and go back
to her family.""
The entire story can be read at:
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Also read the Guardian commentary on Northern Ireland's abortion ban triumph as a triumph of grassroots activism by Anna Cafolla published on October 22, 2019, at the link below: The sub-heading is:" Decriminalisation puts an end to years of the persecution of women by a monstrous religious culture."
PASSAGE ONE OF THE DAY: "Today is day zero for a new, progressive Northern Ireland. At midnight last night, the 158-year-old ban on abortion was lifted in favour of decriminalisation. Yesterday saw the DUP and other anti-choice MLAs gather in a paltry attempt to restore the assembly and name a speaker, as a last-ditch attempt to smite law reform – a pathetic display of contempt for human rights. Other parties refused to attend, so the attempt at executive restoration has been little more than a pantomime. It feels bizarre, to will your political system’s continued chaos for the betterment of its people, but here we are. We are on the cusp of a freedom that’s been fought for and crafted by years of fervent grassroots organising by groups like Alliance for Choice, individuals sharing their painful, unjust stories; and unrelenting collective solidarity."
PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "Over the years, Northern Ireland has borne witness to the criminalisation and persecution of women for accessing abortion pills at home – the police raids of activists’ homes and workplaces, a student betrayed to authorities by her housemates with evidence of her miscarriage scavenged from their bin, a mother prosecuted for procuring pills for her teenage daughter, a survivor of an abusive relationship. After today, no more criminal proceedings can be brought forward – finally, a very real, archaic threat can be shed: women won’t be dragged through the courts for their bodily choices. Through all this, Alliance for Choice’s pro-choice campaign stall in Belfast’s Corn Market has weathered it all, while escorts faithfully protected the users of the now-closed Marie Stopes clinic from anti-choice violence and abuse. Activists continue to be the voice of reason, while politicians either freeze or scramble – we owe this win for human rights to them all. And though we celebrate, we remember the traumatising horror of a journey it has been, and the people who suffered in its wake."
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GIST: "It
has been 1,009 days since the Stormont government in Northern Ireland
collapsed in January 2017. While the building on the Belfast Hill has
gained some mothballs and a politician here and there has been chided
for morally and politically dubious holidays, Northern Irish citizens’ human rights have been dug from the bedrock of a patriarchal, religious-gilded state. In June 2017, Belfast’s court of appeal ruled
that it was up to the Northern Irish assembly to decide on the
country’s restrictive abortion law. That same day, the British
government monumentally announced funding for pregnant Northern Irish
women to access abortion in England, pressured by Labour MP and ally Stella Creasy. In May 2018, the Republic of Ireland voted to repeal its archaic abortion restrictions
– Stormont, still dormant. Earlier this month, Sarah Ewart, a woman
forced to travel to England for an abortion after receiving a fatal
foetal diagnosis, triumphed in her legal challenge
to Northern Irland (sic) laws for breaching human rights. In over three
years, thousands of women, girls, and pregnant people have travelled to
access terminations elsewhere – an overwhelming number of journeys by
car, plane, boat, and rail. People in Northern Ireland have long been
constricted by some of the most crushing abortion laws in the world,
making it illegal even in cases of incest and rape. At the time that
power-sharing was obliterated and a political vacuum opened up, more than 160 pieces of legislation
were halted, unable to receive ministerial backing. On day 410 of no
functioning government, we were thrown by reports that found suicides in
Northern Ireland since the Good Friday agreement outstripped the number of dead in the Troubles conflict, while supporting charities gave out with lack of funding. On the dark day 832, the journalist Lyra McKee
– who wrote fiercely about Northern Ireland’s most urgent issues – was
murdered in Derry by paramilitary gunfire. Calls swelled for unity,
politicians rushed to engage in talks to restore the assembly, but
nothing fruitful came. But on day 914, Westminster resoundingly voted to
extend same-sex marriage and access to abortion to Northern Ireland,
two historic decisions made within 15 minutes of each other. Today is day zero for a new, progressive Northern Ireland. At midnight last night, the 158-year-old ban on abortion was lifted in favour of decriminalisation.
Yesterday saw the DUP and other anti-choice MLAs gather in a paltry
attempt to restore the assembly and name a speaker, as a last-ditch
attempt to smite law reform – a pathetic display of contempt for human
rights. Other parties refused to attend,
so the attempt at executive restoration has been little more than a
pantomime. It feels bizarre, to will your political system’s continued
chaos for the betterment of its people, but here we are. We
are on the cusp of a freedom that’s been fought for and crafted by
years of fervent grassroots organising by groups like Alliance for
Choice, individuals sharing their painful, unjust stories; and
unrelenting collective solidarity. Over the years, Northern Ireland has
borne witness to the criminalisation and persecution of women for
accessing abortion pills at home – the police raids of activists’ homes
and workplaces, a student betrayed to authorities by her housemates
with evidence of her miscarriage scavenged from their bin, a mother
prosecuted for procuring pills for her teenage daughter, a survivor of
an abusive relationship. After today, no more criminal proceedings can
be brought forward – finally, a very real, archaic threat can be shed:
women won’t be dragged through the courts for their bodily choices.
Through all this, Alliance for Choice’s pro-choice campaign stall in
Belfast’s Corn Market has weathered it all, while escorts faithfully
protected the users of the now-closed Marie Stopes clinic from
anti-choice violence and abuse. Activists continue to be the voice of
reason, while politicians either freeze or scramble – we owe this win
for human rights to them all. And though we celebrate, we remember the
traumatising horror of a journey it has been, and the people who
suffered in its wake. We are witnessing one of the most radical movements of contemporary
feminism of this century. The cases for reproductive rights and bodily
autonomy are inextricably linked to the fight for marriage equality and
LGBTQ+ rights, a shared mission for freedom and choice. The DUP and
anti-choice nationalist politicians, as well as NI’s religious leaders,
and their attempts to play on religious and national identity have
failed. The cries of “partisan issues” or “Westminster intervention”
proved obselete. Attempts by anti-abortion acitivists to use the
prospect of introducing the previously contentious Irish Language Act as
a means to bring back power-sharing and then ultimately halt abortion
reform have been railed against by Gaeilgeoirí (Irish speakers) and
everyone who understands NI as a multi-issue state, where rights aren’t
traded against each other. With stats showing 71%
believe in a woman’s right to choose and 89% rejecting criminalisation,
Northern Irish people are ready for change, the draconian laws are just
catching up with them. The monstrous culture, with its tentacles of religious ideology and
political constraints long wrapped around Northern Ireland’s throat, are
falling away. State-sanctioned shame that makes women merely vessels is peeling
away, barriers that most corrosively affect the poor and marginalised
pulled down. And whether Stormont returns to stasis or not, activists
will continue to reject the enduring status quo that has used Northern
Irish bodies as political pawns. These next few months will be ravaging,
as the provisions and regulations must be formed by March 2020.
Already, we’ve seen the difficulties
of making inclusive, accessible abortion care in the Republic. But we
have an opportunity to craft a new Northern Ireland in an image without
persecution or barriers. Though hope can feel hard in a post-conflict
society marred by political apathy, we’ve seen that love wins, the
grassroots triumph, and that the North is well and truly now."
Read the entire story at:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/22/northern-ireland-abortion-ban-triumph-grassroots-activism
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/oct/22/northern-ireland-abortion-ban-triumph-grassroots-activism
PUBLISHER’S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog;
