On Current TV | December 14, 2008 | Comment on this video (49)

Abortion Tourism

ksimpson
Louise, a young Irish artist from Dublin, shares the mixed emotions about her her journey to London to obtain an abortion. Every year around 6000 women travel from Ireland to England to have abortions. Despite being legal in England, Scotland and Wales for over 40 years, abortion it is still illegal in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
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    On Current TV,   Sex and Love,   Current Issue,   Current Discussioni,   1 more
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    Sex and Love,  On Current TV,  Women,  Europe,  6 more
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    ksimpson Producer, clemwilson Editor, sylviaw Producer, more
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49 comments // Abortion Tourism // Video

  • omshaantih
    • 0
      omshaantih  

    • My friend had an abortion 5 years ago and it still haunts her. She did it because her boyfriend told her he did not want a child. She really wanted the child but was afraid she would not give it a good life. Now she wished she gave the child up for adoption because she feels the guilt of the blood on her hands...no one should be allowed to commit that type of murder without full knowledge of the depth of the crime...life should be without harming...AHimsa

    • 3 years ago
  • mariposablanca
  • couldntfindausername
  • couldntfindausername
    • 0
      couldntfindausername  

    • From most parts of the country it is a shorter trip to England than it is to the other side of the island. Thanks to Ryanair and EU passports, the reality of the situation is that we *do* have abortion in Ireland. The sooner we get over ourselves and admit that reality - the sooner we get over this notion that just because they cross the pond that the abortions aren't happening - the better.

      As with most of the remaining social challenges facing modern societies around the world, demographics are key. Voting patterns in Ireland are largely dependent on age and socioeconomic status - as those of us not living in the 1820s make up more and more of the voting population thanks to death and old age, the law *will* be changed. It is inevitable.

      Until then we're stuck with the tragic situation Louise and the other commentators describe - in which we just don't talk about it.

    • 3 years ago
  • UnDeAdPoPe
    • 0
      UnDeAdPoPe  

    • what seems to have totally dodged everyones mind,
      what if the woman was raped?
      there was a case of it(in Ireland)a woman whom was raped seeked to go to the UK for an abortion,not sure what ever became of her.

      I think its just horrible that its illegal in Ireland its very annoying growing up in such a expective Catholic country,people have near gasped at my usernames for different thing including Current(Undeadpope)but I do not plan at all of taking there right to rule by majority if I am to be silenced by the talk of millions I will not bark at them to change.

    • 3 years ago
  • RacyT
    • +1
      RacyT  

    • Would any of the men here call the men who fathered these kids "sluts" or "whores" or tell them to stop having sex? Of course not.

      Maybe you're just jealous because none of those "sluts" would touch you with a 10-foot pole. Douchebags.

    • 3 years ago
  • mariposablanca
  • Denica_Cassandra
    • +1
      Denica_Cassandra  

    • it is no one else's business when a woman has to make such a personal medical decision. women's reproductive rights are tied directly to their ability to go to school, make money and support a happy family. we need more access to healthcare and health education to make sure all women are informed.

    • 3 years ago
  • jesusonabicycle
  • Lamastadon
    • +1
      Lamastadon  

    • I can't believe this is an issue, or even illegal in some parts of the world. It's a woman's right to choose if she wants to have an abortion or not. Simple as that.

    • 3 years ago
  • barkingdog24
  • FallenMorgan
  • barkingdog24
  • FallenMorgan
  • Freak_Party_Unite
  • arty7
  • mojojuju
  • anglcazn
  • couldntfindausername
    • 0
      couldntfindausername  
    • mojojuju:

      IUDs are generally recommended only for women who are finished having children, owing to the possibility of complications which could cause permanent inability to conceive.

      All contraceptive methods carry a failure risk, even if they are used perfectly [a condom can have manufacturing errors, or another medication can interfere with the action of an oral contraceptive for example].

      No matter how careful and how responsible a couple are, there can still be unplanned and unwanted pregnancy - with termination being the last resort.

    • 3 years ago
  • barkingdog24
  • uponrooftops
    • +1
      uponrooftops  
    • barkingdog24:

      carrying a child to term and then giving it up is probably not the easiest thing to do for any woman. in the same respect, it is also very hard for some women to abort.
      it sounds like a safe and easy option to just say, give it up for adoption, but there are not that many people willing to take home kids that aren't their own, if they are healthy and fertile.

    • 3 years ago
  • anglcazn
  • xshhhhx
  • VitaminStolz
  • NoGodsNoMasters
  • gertrude13
  • maeveisis
  • Get_Cape
  • uponrooftops
  • Get_Cape
  • slr249
  • Jahvega
  • simplerobbdotcom
  • diabolical44
  • agent
    • +1
      agent  
    • diabolical44:

      thank you for your riveting and educational response to a very tasteful and informative pod about things that happen to regular women on a regular basis. Surely, you would appreciate the same sentiment?

    • 3 years ago
  • anglcazn
  • slr249
  • tursiops
  • marisa_bklyn
    • +1
      marisa_bklyn  

    • To jmrice 212 u must be a man, possibly mentally ill, sadistic, and Christian (Jesus freak). As for her or any other woman that has or will have an abortion having one is not a selfish act. In some ways it isn't only thinking about u but also thinking about what kind of life this POTENTIAL human being will have.It's selfish when a teenage girl has a baby b/c they want someone to love them. They r financially and emotionally unprepared to have a baby and after the novelty wears off they they either have another one, have their mom's take care of it, or have unwanted , negelcted kids. Is it better to bring unwanted kids into this world? R u going to take care of these unwanted kids? No so stop telling people how to live their lives. As for theidiot that said no one ever got arrested just the sheer knowledge that u cld be facing life in prison is horrible enough. What if they started enforcing the law and u were made to be an example of. What's selfish is to have kids for selfish reasons and then to neglect them that's selfish. If u know ur not ready for a kid don't have them it's better than living with regret and guilt when u can't adequately care for a kid that u didn't want in the first place.

    • 3 years ago
  • leahl
  • blanch
    • 0
      blanch  

    • This story I'm sure is true for this woman during the period she did this so I don't want to contradict her experience or version of events.
      However, while abortion may be illegal in Ireland, no woman is prosecuted for traveling for one. The role of the Catholic Church may have been true in the past, but it has very little influence now on young women or men. In any case, the Catholic Church in Ireland isn't going to chase you or persecute you if you have had an abortion, and most priests, nuns and lay Catholics will sympathise with and support the woman rather than judge her, without agreeing with her decision.
      An interesting piece nonetheless.

    • 3 years ago
  • noragwe
    • 0
      noragwe  

    • This has got to be extremely taxing psychologically for them, but at least they have the option of traveling a relatively short distance to get a safe and legal abortion.

    • 3 years ago
  • yahtzee
  • jmrice212
    • 0
      jmrice212  

    • You seemed to be between a rock and a hard place, having to make a "choice." Exercising your desire to have such a right (even though legally you do not), you decided for YOUR OWN personal betterment that you make the "right" choice, empowered by the thousands of other women who were brave enough to make that same decision, but stupid and selfish enough to have found themselves in that situation to begin with. Stop having sex, no? You'd be surprised at how the lack of a dick inside your vagina can save you the 1000 euros to go to England. Stop searching for sympathy and get a life.

    • 3 years ago
  • noragwe
    • 0
      noragwe  
    • jmrice212:

      I believe the point was that she was trying to "get a life" and the unexpected pregnancy got in the way of that.

      Also, these women are not "stupid and selfish," they are backed into a corner. I think that institutionally, making contraception illegal is kind of asking for unplanned pregnancies and thus abortions.

    • 3 years ago
  • simoen
    • 0
      simoen  
    • jmrice212:

      Wow. I am so glad closed minded people like you are attempting to make decisions for the rest of the country. What is worse; have an abortion or have a baby and have that child grow up in a difficult life? Why wouldn't you want your child to grow up in the best possible environment? If you can't currently provide that environment then wouldn't you want to wait till you could. Adoption is an option, however, this is even harder to do than abortion.
      Also, it is very difficult to resist the temptation of sex before marriage. Almost impossible. I totally agee with noragwe, banning contraception is just asking for unplanned pregnancies and so also asking for abortions.
      Abortions are never going to be stopped. Even if they are made illegal, people will continue to have abortions and these could be very dangerous.

    • 3 years ago
  • yokel
    • 0
      yokel  
    • jmrice212:

      jmrice - I imagine you would have been the kind of person before women had the 'right' to vote, saying "you can't it's illegal" :-( it makes about as much sense as you arguing that Irish women don't deserve access to abortion because it's 'not a legal right'. I guess the women in the UK can have as many dicks in them as they like because abortion is legalised.
      Women who have sex are not selfish and stupid, any more than the men they have sex with. Without access to adequate contraception it is inevitable that unwanted pregnancy would be a huge issue for couples (not just women! I won't go into the anatomical details here, but suffice to say that a man must almost certainly be involved in any unwanted pregnancy, women don't just get themselves pregnant by opening their legs) and abortion is a valid choice to make in such a circumstance.
      I feel a great deal of sympathy for women who find themselves in such a situation and are thwarted by archaic religious propaganda and the state, in exercising their right to a medical procedure. Women are more than their wombs.
      As for the 'get a life' I can only presume that was her intention ;-) what kind of life is there for a single mother abandoned by an irresponsible and selfish boyfriend left to raise a child on her own? Not much of one, I'd think. When women no longer financially and socially burdened by child-rearing, I imagine abortion rates would fall, same for if adequate education and contraception was available.
      I hope jmrice you are lobbying for such social change, no? Oh, right, you think abstinence for women (but presumably not men (ha!) is the way to go, good luck with that, I hear abstinence programs have great pregnancy success rates.
      Good on you Louise for telling your story. :-)

    • 3 years ago
  • gertrude13
  • Denica_Cassandra
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