Message to the U.S.A.- Love, Ireland

You know how all those peeps out there believe if we reverse Roe v. Wade, the world would suddenly become a magically wonderful place with lollipops and rainbows? Okay, not really, but there’s a great number of people who believe that reversing that decision and banning abortions would be for the better and end abortions altogether.

We should look to Ireland for ideas on this discussion. The Guardian reports that the Irish government is catching major heat lately to overturn their current abortion ban because of accusations that it was exposing women to major lies and falsehoods about the procedure.

Some interesting points from the article:

According to Human Rights Watch, Irish legislation – under which women who have an abortion in Ireland face a life sentence in prison if prosecuted – is putting women’s health at risk and exposing them to deliberate misinformation from rogue pro-life agencies.

Women have been told they may become infertile, require a hysterectomy or possibly need a colostomy bag after an abortion by agencies that target women seeking advice about unwanted pregnancies, says the report.

Furthermore, the country is awaiting a “landmark ruling from the European court of human rights on the case of three women who accuse the government of putting their health at risk by forcing them to travel abroad for terminations.”

What does this teach us, folks? Well, here are our thoughts. We don’t criticize anyone’s beliefs. If you believe that abortion is wrong for religious reasons or personal ones, that is YOUR choice and we respect that. We only ask that, in return, the people who feel that way respect other women whose choices don’t match their own. And that is what this debate always comes down to—respect. No one is forcing every woman in United States to get an abortion once in their lives or get one if something is determined to be wrong with the unborn fetus. And as such, no one should be pushing their beliefs on other women and forcing them to keep their unborn child no matter what.

And, as Ireland teaches us, banning abortions doesn’t work from a rational or practical standpoint either. Women don’t stop getting abortions—they just travel to other countries to get them or risk their lives going to renegade doctors that may not have the proper skills or equipment. Banning abortions also doesn’t make the world a happier or more moral place either—as seen by the hideous tactics used to scare women into being pro-life.

Unless things change soon, cross Ireland off the list of place we’d move to if the good ole’ US of A ever decides to take us back 40 years and overturn Roe v. Wade. Canada is looking better and better to us every day…