Place trust in women

It is now 21 years since the X case, in which a traumatised 14-year-old girl was summoned back to Ireland, after she and her parents had decided that she needed an abortion in dealing with the crisis brought about by her rape and subsequent pregnancy.

We finally have the heads of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013.

While this means the reality of abortion now has to be faced within the Republic, if only in a specific and narrow set of crisis-pregnancy circumstances, it doesn’t inspire much optimism for ensuring that pregnant women and girls are treated with dignity and that their personal autonomy is respected. Placing trust in women still seems as distant as ever.