One thin sea stands between possibility and life for women, and helplessness and fear; between being approximately a person in the eyes of the law, and being a container. The abuse of Irish women must go on no longer.

“We’ve heard time and time again from women forced by the despair induced by a combination of poverty and draconian abortion laws who have taken matters into their own hands – by ingesting chemicals, by overdosing on medications, by drinking excessively, by literally throwing themselves down stairs to try and induce miscarriage.”

The Abortion Support Network, a charity that provides financial assistance to women forced to travel to access abortion, said it had witnessed a “steep increase in calls” from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Network director Mara Clarke said that, last year, the network received 552 calls from women seeking support accessing abortion in…

Doctors have to play “medical roulette” with patients’ lives in applying Ireland’s restrictive abortion laws, the head of the National Maternity Hospital (NMH) said. It comes as figures show 21 of the 3,735 who travelled to the UK for abortions last year were children. The obstetrician asked how is a substantial risk defined: “Is it…

Abortion Support Network Press Release          9 June 2015   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE   DoH numbers on abortion miss the bigger picture for those in Ireland   Ireland’s abortion laws continue to harm women   The 2014 abortion statistics published by the Department of Health today show a slight increase in the number of women…

Although the number is slightly up — a 0.95% increase compared with the 5,469 in 2013 — the long-term trend shows a decline. The number of these abortions was roughly 9,000 in 2004. And in 2013 these numbers reached the lowest in any year since 1969. “Amsterdam and Brussels have clinics where they speak English and…

Mara Clarke is highly critical of Irish legislation regarding abortion. “I think the abortion law in Ireland is completely unfit for purpose. Ireland exports its abortion problem.”

A podcast about politics, science and the intersection of the two (also any random nerdy shit that catches our attention). Intro music by Rob Moore (@rob-moore-8 on Soundcloud). In this month’s episode: Abortion in Ireland and the Abortion Support Network Cuts to mental health services Sexuality and genetics CERN and US science funding A very…

“At the end of the day, restricting abortion doesn’t stop it. It just doesn’t. It just stops safe abortions.”

Anja felt that ASN’s basic premise was “brilliantly straightforward and no nonsense – the kind of organisation that placed a lot of trust in its volunteers.” Anja can’t recommend it highly enough. When I ask why, she enthuses, “to challenge yourself, to learn something new, to lend your particular expertise to a cause that you care…