Ship Planning to Offer Abortions Hits Shoal at Irish Port

[Guest guest]

DUBLIN, June 16 — Dr. Rebecca Gomperts, wearing a beige shawl, cut a modest figure as

she ventured onto the deck of a trawler on the River Liffey, where she faced an assembly of cameras and microphones unseen in Dublin even for the likes of Bono and U2.

 

Her brief words to the international media on Friday were hardly as significant as her presence and that of her boat: the Aurora, a trawler outfitted with a clinic for ending pregnancies of 10 weeks or less with RU-486.

 

Had all gone according to plan, Dr. Gomperts and her abortion rights organization Women on

Waves would have spent the next week providing abortion services to Irish women by sailing 12 miles off the coast into international waters, where the procedures would be legal, unlike in Ireland,

which bans abortions almost entirely. But events unfolded in unexpected ways that roiled the abortion debate here.

 

At first Women on Waves played down the number of women it might attract, considering the social stigma involved in Ireland and the possibility of harassment from abortion opponents. "We hoped for

two, or one," said Lizet Kraal, a co-founder of Women on Waves.

 

But by the time Women on Waves had escorted the last camera crew around its on-board clinic, it exclaimed that nearly 200 women had called to ask for an appointment.

 

The next surprise was that the Aurora could not in fact carry out its mission.

 

Women on Waves found that it lacked two Dutch and Irish licenses, one for operating medical facilities and the other for carrying passengers to sea. So instead of abortions, the Aurora will provide counseling and contraception services.

 

Its plans are now uncertain: the ship may sail back to the Netherlands for its missing license, then return to Ireland in July, or it may sail on to South America or Africa to continue its campaign in places where the regulations on abortion are greatly restricted.

 

Dr. Gomperts said she hoped to raise money to let some of the women who contacted Women on Waves travel to England or to the Netherlands for abortions; they would be joining more than 6,000 Irish women who already travel to England for that purpose each year.

 

But the group faces severe financial difficulties since Dr. Gomperts rents the Aurora at a cost of more than $1,000 a day, and the group's initial support of $117,000 has nearly run out.

 

Accused of staging a publicity stunt, Women on Waves did expect to generate debate, on both sides of the issue. But Irish groups opposing abortion, who are known for demonstrating with loudspeakers and graphically illustrated posters, largely stayed home on Friday.

 

The only signs of outrage were a few isolated hecklers at the news conference, and a 30-foot yacht that cruised up and down the River Liffey alongside the Aurora with a sign calling itself "Operation Babe Watch" and a poster showing a baby's face above the word Life.

 

On the other side, the chief executive of the Irish Family Planning Association, Tony O'Brien, said that "the boat's arrival certainly has galvanized into action many people who haven't been active" since a referendum on the matter nearly a decade ago.

 

Last November, the Irish government published what it described as a 700-page "progress report" on abortion with the intent of amending the law, but no further steps have been taken. Anti-abortion

groups say the current legal arrangement is turning a blind eye to the issue.

 

In March, a nationwide opinion poll indicated that 79 percent of Irish citizens think that abortion should be more generally available here. And the Irish Medical Council is in the process of debating

changes to its ethical guidelines, which forbid abortion under any circumstances.

 

While Women on Waves found itself unable to provide abortion services this weekend, the number of responses to its offer went some way toward refocusing national attention on the issue.

 

"I'm so deeply moved by the disparity" between Ireland and the Netherlands, Dr. Gomperts said. "I'm an abortion provider in the Netherlands, and I know how desperate women can be."

 

[Maitreya 0]

That's it.

Thanks randOM.

 

Women On Waves, WOW ; that's MOM upside down.

 

 

[amanpeter 0]

Originally posted by Maitreya:

That's it.

Thanks randOM.

 

Women On Waves, WOW ; that's MOM upside down.

 

Good one, MC prabhu!

 

------------------

No offense meant to anyone...

[Guest guest]

Originally posted by Maitreya:

That's it.

Thanks randOM.

 

Women On Waves, WOW ; that's MOM upside down.

 

 

You're welcome, MC. Can you do me a favor and send mahax a memo on the madmela about this forum, and we can start a new vulcan thread in test section? Volcano in philopinoland along with megashake in peru. Mahax should be here, i'll post a vulcan thread in test section.

[Gauracandra 1]

Yeah, amanpeter, I like MC's observation as well. Whats scary is that here in the U.S. abortion has really skyrocketed in the last 40 years. Today one in 3 pregnancies ends in abortion. Of the remaining births, another 1/3rd are out of wedlock. The basis for any civilization is the family unit. This rampant promiscuity and abortion mentality is one of the key drivers of deterioration in the U.S. society. It must be remembered that culture is the key to a strong society. Culture is what creates good education, economic development, low crime etc.... But as soon as our culture weakens, it doesn't matter how much money you throw at the problem (say education for instance), you won't solve it.

 

Gauracandra