By a Special Corespondent AMID the furore over abortion in the Irish Republic, the fact that abortion is still ilegal in the Six Counties has been overlooked. Every week at least 10 women from the North make the journey to the mainland to have abortions.
But many are forced by lack of cath or sociy pressure so nive unwanted children. Others resort to backstroet abortionists, still doing ood business in this part of the United ingdom Beyond the lol of unwanted chidron and backstreet terminations, the ant-hortion law has a dre imonc. or the avatability of contracoption advice, and on ante-natal care.
Pre-natal scans, espocially amniocentesis, are generaly not avaiable, except to articulate, middle-class women who demand them. The reason is the that the deloction of abnormalities could lead to a request lor an abortion. There is even a widespread social stigma against having scans for this reason.
Bigots
The one Brook Street clinic to have opened in benaist ras coen regulen picketed by ant-abortion bigots. The orly contraception, not GInK 97 abortion, adrice; but the ant-aborDonists argue that contraception for teenagers makes them more interested in sex and thus more likety to have urwanted pregnancies.
The denial of ante-natal screening to working class women is just part or the conspiracy to prevent abortions. The Northern Ireland Office gives an extra 5000 compensation to rape victims who become pregnant - in return for a writlen agreement not to have an The lack of availability of regular xo-natal scans naturally loads to the irt of a disproportionate number of amaren wiw acute oisaanubo Some women who have had an early scan in which a slight abnormality was picked up, ano wito suosequenty were not given further tests, have been shooked to tind their children suffered from Downs Syndrome or spina bifida, with no advance warning.
Because Northem Ireland is a relatively isolated and small community. the incidenoe of congerital delects is twico the European averago; a natutal case lor untersal ang rogoe scans for pregnant women, not the denial of this Halaly The 1967 Abortion Act was never Introduced in the Six Counties. As a result abortion is governed by the 1861 offences against the Person Act, which makes 2 unlamtul to 7legally procure' an abortion.
No guidance Since thore is no further guidance about what it means to ilegally procure' an abortion, doctors fear this covers ail terminations.
But some GPs do refor women for aborton. and somo gynaecologists do perform them, but in secret and in defance of the law. Bocause this is overwhelmingly middle class women who have me resourons and contacts.
For the bulk of working class women, especially young women with little money and often living at home, things are much more dificut. Raising the money to go to Britain in many cases means going to a loan shark. And then there is the dificulty of explaining a threo-day absence against the background of heavy: social pressures on both sides of the Nationalist-Loyalist divide.
Another breach in the ant-abortion consensus is the bizarre fact that the Uss someunes proniats sie money for women to have abortions in England, a cynical economic calculation that social security payments will be less without further children.
Churches united
Abortion is an issue on which the all the churches in the Six Countes, Catholic and Protestant, unite.
No 'mainstream' politician has been prepared to raise his head (it's generally his) above the parapet of religious reaction and bigotry to raise on this issue. Many women activists complain that thor demands are put to one side while the war goes on.
I's time for the political left in Brilain to alert progressive and democratic public opinion to this inte-discussed corner of tyranny and misery.