- Blog
- News
- Who We Are
- Projects
- Campaigns
- Publications
- History
PR: HSE’s statement on abortion
PR:22.06.2009
The pro-life group Youth Defence has said that a Health Service Executive (HSE) statement which linked Ireland’s high waiting times for spinal operations with our ban on abortion, was both “shocking” and “completely out of touch with the ethos of the Irish people”.
A HSE statement commenting on delays affecting children in need of surgical procedures in Crumlin’s Children’s Hospital said that Ireland’s ban on abortion was responsible for high rates of scoliosis and spina bifida, leading to higher waiting times for essential procedures.
Parents expressed horror at the statement which said: “The incidence of children with scoliosis in Ireland is different to other countries as termination of pregnancies that have a pre-natal diagnosis of spina bifida or other conditions that may develop spinal curvature is not legal in Ireland.”
Emer Murphy, mother of 11 year old spina bifida patient Jamie expressed her shock saying the statement was “deeply offensive”. “She made me the person I am. If I had to have ten more children like Jamie, I would consider myself lucky,” she told the Irish Daily Mail. The HSE has cut funding to the Children’s Hospital by €9 million euros, causing widespread criticism and protest.
Youth Defence spokeswoman Íde Nic Mhathúna said that the attitude revealed in the statement towards children with disabilities was “absolutely unacceptable”. “This statement has been widely condemned by parents and disability rights campaigners,” she said. “We call on the HSE firstly to apologise for these remarks and for the offence they have caused, and secondly, to explain why such a statement was issued in the first instance.”
Ms Nic Mhathúna said attitude expressed in the statement “might help to explain the role the HSE has taken in several high-profile cases concerning abortion in recent years”. In 2007, the HSE sought leave to bring a young girl in care for an abortion when her baby was diagnosed with a serious disability.
End
