Low-cost air fares help Ireland's abortion refugees - Hotels offer abortion packages

icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk ^

[chance33_98]

Low-cost air fares help Ireland's abortion refugees

May 27 2003 By Kirsti Adair Daily Post Staff

MORE than 3,000 women travel to Liverpool from Ireland every year for a private abortion.

Latest figures from the Family Planning Association in Northern Ireland show an estimated 1,000 people coming from Northern Ireland and around 2,000 travelling from the Republic.

Hotels in the city have been offering abortion packages to women who need to stay over-night for 10 years.

Liverpool has long been a favoured destination because of the ferry link with Ireland and this has been reinforced in recent years by the low-cost air link between Liverpool and Belfast.

Association director Audrey Simpson said: "A large number of women, who have become known as abortion refugees, travel to Liverpool every year.

"There are hotels in the city which organise package deals, including accommodation and drop off services to and from the clinics.

"These women are forced to travel to Liverpool for private abortions because of the severe restrictions in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. It is a ridiculous situation in Northern Ireland where abortion law is not clarified."

The estimated numbers are double those recorded by preg-nancy advisory service BPAS, who recorded just over 1,000 women as heading to the Mersey-side clinic in 2002.

But Mrs Simpson said this is because many women give an English address when they register at a clinic because of the veil of secrecy surrounding the issue throughout Ireland.

A spokesperson for BPAS in the North West said: "It is entirely possible there are many more women coming over than our figures show.

"Obviously we would hope to be as accurate as possible but we can only report what our clients tell us, and we know some women will not want to give their real home address."

The Ulster association offers women a booklet containing details of the Liverpool hotels offering support packages for those having to stay overnight.

The Regent Maritime hotel in Bootle, organises pick ups and drops off at the clinic for an extra fee.

Hotel owner Rosslyn Smith, said: "Women coming over for abortions have made up the bulk of our business during the last 10 years.

"In the past we have had 17 to 20 staying in one weekend. We used to get a lot of 13 to 16-year-olds.

"This is less so now as changes to anaesthetic rules mean more women can have it done in a day. But for those staying with us, we offer the drop-off service like a number of smaller hotels."

A Liverpool organisation called Escort has women volunteers who meet women and help them get to the clinic. Some volunteers even offer the women accommodation in their homes.

Volunteer Kim Lowden said she had 70 women staying a year.

She said: "These are the women who have no money for accommodation or transport and don't know anyone here.

"The number coming over is much higher than official figures suggest. Women are scared stiff of the stigma and they don't want anybody at home to find out."

[wideawake]

The figures imply that approximately one out of every 25 Irish pregnancies end in murder.

That's a very favorable comparison with the USA's 1 in 5 or 1 in 6.

This means the law is working well, despite the willingness of some English miscreants to continue Cromwell's work.

[aiquile]

Keep 'em out! Don't let them in the hotels! Let them wander the streets! It's more than they deserve!

[Charlie OK]

kudos to Ireland.

[aiquile]

...even more so if they start cracking down on these people, um, I mean sub-humans...

[luckodeirish]

I'm speechless.

[sneakers]

"Keep 'em out! Don't let them in the hotels! Let them wander the streets! It's more than they deserve!"

That's cruel. These women need compassion and an alternative to having their babies killed. My niece lost her twin babies to miscarriage last week. They were about 14 weeks along in development. The family was permitted in to view them and pay respects. They were tiny and

[sneakers]

Sorry - I hit the 'post' button to early! LOL!

They were tiny and perfect. Still developing, but all the fingers and toes were there, etc. I wish these women knew what they were aborting.

[sneakers]

even more so if they start cracking down on these people, um, I mean sub-humans..."

Why would you say such a thing? They are making the wrong choice by aborting their babies. They will live with the awful knowledge of what they have done for the rest of their lives. But they are not monsters. They panic and take the first and, initially, easiest route. It's too bad a service is not offered to help them carry their babies to term. In fact, there probably ARE programs like that there. The volunteer who puts women up for the night so they can have an abortion could just as easily give a home to a pregnant girl until her baby is born.

[votelife]

Here is a recent email I sent to W.

Dear President Bush, With the Surpeme Court session getting ready to close, it may well be time for perhaps the most important domestic decision of your presidency: the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice(s). The main reason why I supported you in 2000 and why I wanted Daschle out of power in 02 (and 04) has to do with the courts. I want America courts to interpret law, not write law. During your presidential campaign you said Thomas and Scalia were your two model justices. Those are excellent models. The High Court needs more like them. Clarence Thomas recently said to students that the tough cases were when what he wanted to do was different from what the law said. And he goes by the law. This should be a model philosophy for our justices. Your father, President Bush lost his reelection campaign for 3 main reasosn, as far as I can see. 1. he broke the no new taxes pledge 2. David Souter 3. Clinton convinced people we were in a Bush recession (which we had already come out of by the time Clinton was getting sworn in)

I urge you to learn from all three of these: 1. on taxes, you're doing great. Awesome job on the tax cut. 2. good job so far on judicial appointments. I want to see more of a fight for Estrada, Owen, and Pickering, but I commend you on your nominations. 3. by staying engaged in the economic debate you'll serve yourself well

I have been thoroughly impressed with your handling of al Queida, Iraq, and terrorism. You have inspired confidence and have shown great leadership.

But I want to remind you that your Supreme Court pick(s) will be with us LONG after you have departed office. I urge you to avoid the tempation to find a "compromise" pick. Go for a Scalia or Thomas. Don't go for an O'Connor or Kennedy. To be specific, get someone who is pro-life. Roe v Wade is one of the worst court decisions I know of, and it's the perfect example of unrestrained judicial power.

I know the temptation will be tremendous on you to nominate a moderate. But remember who your true supporters are. I am not a important leader or politician. I am "simply" a citizen who has been an enthusiatic supporter of you. I am willing to accept compromise in many areas of government but I will watch your Court nomiantions extremely closely. What the Senate Dems are doing right now is disgusting, but as the President you have the bully pulpit to stop it. Democrats will back down if you turn up serious heat on them.

Moreover, I think public opinion is shifting towards the pro-life position. Dems will want you to nominate a moderate, but almost all will vote against you anyways. Pro-choice Repubs will likely still vote for you if you nominate a Scalia, after all, you campaigned on it. So Mr. President, I urge you to stick with your campaign statements and nominate justices who believe in judicial restraint, like Scalia and Thomas.

Happy Memorial Day and may God bless you and your family.

[votelife]

Here is a recent email I sent to W.

Dear President Bush, With the Surpeme Court session getting ready to close, it may well be time for perhaps the most important domestic decision of your presidency: the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice(s). The main reason why I supported you in 2000 and why I wanted Daschle out of power in 02 (and 04) has to do with the courts. I want America courts to interpret law, not write law. During your presidential campaign you said Thomas and Scalia were your two model justices. Those are excellent models. The High Court needs more like them. Clarence Thomas recently said to students that the tough cases were when what he wanted to do was different from what the law said. And he goes by the law. This should be a model philosophy for our justices. Your father, President Bush lost his reelection campaign for 3 main reasosn, as far as I can see. 1. he broke the no new taxes pledge 2. David Souter 3. Clinton convinced people we were in a Bush recession (which we had already come out of by the time Clinton was getting sworn in)

I urge you to learn from all three of these: 1. on taxes, you're doing great. Awesome job on the tax cut. 2. good job so far on judicial appointments. I want to see more of a fight for Estrada, Owen, and Pickering, but I commend you on your nominations. 3. by staying engaged in the economic debate you'll serve yourself well

I have been thoroughly impressed with your handling of al Queida, Iraq, and terrorism. You have inspired confidence and have shown great leadership.

But I want to remind you that your Supreme Court pick(s) will be with us LONG after you have departed office. I urge you to avoid the tempation to find a "compromise" pick. Go for a Scalia or Thomas. Don't go for an O'Connor or Kennedy. To be specific, get someone who is pro-life. Roe v Wade is one of the worst court decisions I know of, and it's the perfect example of unrestrained judicial power.

I know the temptation will be tremendous on you to nominate a moderate. But remember who your true supporters are. I am not a important leader or politician. I am "simply" a citizen who has been an enthusiatic supporter of you. I am willing to accept compromise in many areas of government but I will watch your Court nomiantions extremely closely. What the Senate Dems are doing right now is disgusting, but as the President you have the bully pulpit to stop it. Democrats will back down if you turn up serious heat on them.

Moreover, I think public opinion is shifting towards the pro-life position. Dems will want you to nominate a moderate, but almost all will vote against you anyways. Pro-choice Repubs will likely still vote for you if you nominate a Scalia, after all, you campaigned on it. So Mr. President, I urge you to stick with your campaign statements and nominate justices who believe in judicial restraint, like Scalia and Thomas.

Happy Memorial Day and may God bless you and your family.

[Lorianne]

It is not necessarily the law which is making the abortion rate low. It could be, I suspect it is, an overall culture which accepts and supports women, pregnancy, and children.

There are two parts to the abortion quagmire. One side of it is looking at WHY so many choose abortion. Cultural attitudes have a lot to do with how women feel about giving birth, particularly in difficult situations such as poverty, and out of wedlock situations.

[aiquile]

Sorry, I was being harsh...
I read these articles written by pro-abortion people and they do seem really inhumane. But I guess most people who get abortions aren't really like that.

You're right, these people do need help. I just think there need to be more preventive measures than the liberal media tolerates now...

[sneakers]

Hi aiquile:

I'm sorry too. I thought you might be a DU'er here to start trouble so I pounced. I really do feel sorry for those girls though. It's sad that they can't seem to see other alternatives.

[Righter-than-Rush]

Have sex = you might get prego. Duh. Why parents cannot teach kids this is beyond me. Why teens are not taught cause-and-effect by their parents is even further beyond my grasp. Death to permissive parenting.

[Terriergal]

I found this article about 'viability' interesting - from a Catholic point of view. I'm not Catholic but I think this article is right-on!

Any lawmaker today who supports protecting babies’ lives only after viability is still living in the middle ages, in pre-scientific times.

[Terriergal]

They will live with the awful knowledge of what they have done for the rest of their lives. But they are not monsters

Oh come now. How can you credibly say that? Perhaps the woman who does it once and learns from it never to do it again, but what about the majority of repeat offenders? Am I to feel sorry for people who routinely cause their own misery, unwilling to make the effort to change?