This is a bit macabre, for it’s sad and funny at the same time. It is in fact an Irish Pregnancy Flowchart, created and updated by an Irish blogger, Bock the Robber. I’m putting it up because it’s relevant to what we learned this morning. Note where most of the paths converge. Also, it isn’t completely accurate in light of the 2013 laws, for there is one path that should lead to “You’re getting an abortion in Ireland.”
The header (screenshot links to Tw**t):
h/t: Grania
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It still baffles me that some women actually supports these ancient shackles.
That’s because their mothers told them it was God’s will.
Well, technically there ought to be an option for having an abortion in Ireland, however, given how this story played out, clearly you can’t in practice get an abortion under the new amendment even if you are entitled to one. I can pretty much guarantee that the only women who would even think about trying to obtain an abortion in Ireland are those who are physically unable to make it to the UK.
The ‘entitled to travel/no’ and ‘got money/no’ boxes should technically lead to: “do three state-appointed doctors think you are suicidal?” decision point, with ‘yes’ leading to a new end point (‘you’re getting an abortion’) and ‘no’ leading to ‘you’re having a baby.’
For gallows humor, you take the ‘yes’ output of that box and send it to a ‘Really?’ box with an arrow leading back to the ‘do three…’ box (i.e., so it shows that this is a never-ending loop impossibility). Then you put a ‘you’re getting an abortion’ box on the diagram with no arrows leading to it, for visual effect.
The whole situation is awful, but I very much liked Ciaran’s comment on the other thread that the younger generation of Irish are not anywhere near as conservative on this issue, and are expected to liberalize abortion law when they begin to take seats in Parliament. This is the last gasp of an old establishment.
One can only hope.
You’d like to think, but that isn’t really how things have worked out so far.
When Ireland voted in a referendum to allow divorce, Ireland didn’t get legislation in the way you would expect a modern liberal country to legislate for divorce. Instead it got the most bizarre law that makes it as difficult and punitive as possible. Even an “amicable” uncontested divorce takes years to obtain.
Ireland’s divorce laws are not going to be re-visited any time soon.
So, you can expect a law allowing the option of abortion to make it as difficult as possible for the woman to obtain. In the mean time, thousands will suffer.
I think Ciaran was talking about change on a decadal scale, i.e., in 20-30 years when today’s 20-year-olds begin to the the 40-60 year olds that run the government. I don’t think he/she was saying that a change for the better is due any day now.
I agree with you that this is no comfor to the women who have to live under the current system and suffer because of it.
The problem is that todays liberal 20 year olds turn 60 and become just as obsessed with stopping girls from having fun as todays 60 year olds.
Sexual repression is part of most social species nature. The cultural and religious apologetics is just what we confabulate to excuse what is a deeply seated inherited emotional need.
Do they have to convince three doctors, or three Catholic Doctors.
Of course, it must be kept in mind that Ceiling Cat is omnipotent, is in the middle of all relationships and can punish transgressors.
See
http://www.howtogeek.com/geekers/up/sshot53e55be5265fc.jpg
I’m sorry that Irish women’s lives are so forcibly controlled by the Catholic church and Catholic politicians. Where I live in the U.S., Catholics and fundamentalist Christians are working together to turn our democracy into a theocracy. On the healthcare level, more and more hospitals are being purchased by the Catholic Church and run according to Catholic principles re abortion. Fundamentalist religions of any sort should not be able to inflict their beliefs on people holding other beliefs, or none.
I love this!
I was just fuming on the way to work here in New Zealand because of the necessity to have a website listing doctors who refuse to provide information on abortion/contraception. The database was launched in response to a High Court decision that over-ruled the Medical Council’s guidelines, which required doctors to advise patients they could be referred elsewhere. Another group of doctors who think that their weird views should jeopardise the rights of patients.
Then you see this lot!
We had the same thing here in Canada with a doctor refusing to prescribe birth control pills. Now the legislation is being reviewed that says that doctors are prevented from discriminating against patients on the basis of gender or race but they can for religion. The legislation out and out right recognizes that this is against constitutional rights but it’s in there anyway.
At least it is being reviewed & I made sure to take the survey to add my remarks. Honestly, how can it go against the constitution and be enforceable?
Usual free pass for religion
Gosh Gordon, I though you in NZ were more enlightened than we are in Australia. I’ll have to check to see if there is such a list here!!!!!
The “must convince a board” thing reminded me of what was true in Canada prior to Morgentaler’s campaigns.
I said the same on another thread. Morgentaler is one of my few heroes. That guy was one hard ass that did what was right even when he suffered for it personally.
Isn’t diamond shape in flowcharts used for both yes and no. I mean branches of single diamond shapes should represents both yes and no
Diamond shapes represent decision points so they can be whichever you like to be and different flavours of flowcharts have different rules for how to use them.