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Republic of Ireland Public Health Pays For Another Out-Of-Country Teen Abortion

By Hilary White

DUBLIN, January 2, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – Another case in the Republic of Ireland of a teenage girl taken out of the country at public expense for an abortion, has made the news. On December 28, the Irish Examiner reported that the Health Service Executive (HSE) admitted to allowing a 17 year-old girl to be taken for an abortion, but declined to give her name or any further details.

The issue is controversial in Ireland where unborn children are constitutionally protected. Under the current rules, the HSE can make court applications for minors in their care to travel to England for an abortion in cases of pregnancy due to rape or incest.

The Supreme Court decision in the infamous “X Case” of 1992 established that a woman could abort her child if there was "a real and substantial risk" to her life, including “the possibility of suicide.”

The X Case caused an uproar when it came to light that a 14 year-old rape victim, had been taken to London by her family to arrange to abort her child. Then-Attorney General, Harold Whelehan, sought an injunction to stop the abortion which was overturned on appeal to the Supreme Court. The higher court ruled that the abortion was justified because the girl had told her mother about having suicidal thoughts if she could not have an abortion.

In 2005, the Examiner reports, the HSE paid for another teenage girl to travel to Britain for an abortion and previous health boards have funded two teenagers between 2002 and 2003.

While the opposition Labour Party has called on the Government to enact legislation based on the X Case, Patrick Buckley of European Life Network, Dublin, said that it is “completely unacceptable” that the state should “operate outside the Constitution and the Supreme court.”

“It is extremely disappointing that once again the Government has failed to support the lives of the most vulnerable. Pro-lifers expect the Government to do all in their power to encourage parents to support their daughters during unintended pregnancies and to uphold the law as it stands.”

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