Irish Court Oks Raped Teen’s Abortion In Shades Of 1992 Case, Girl Will Be Allowed To Go To England

After several days of emotional national debate on abortion, a volatile issue in this overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country, the Supreme Court affirmed Monday that a 13-year-old girl who said she became pregnant after being raped was free to travel to Britain for an abortion.

The parents had said at first that they would challenge a lower court ruling that the girl could go to England for the operation, but at a Supreme Court hearing Monday they said they had changed their minds. Earlier, there had been indications that the Catholic hierarchy and anti-abortion groups would finance an appeal. The church said Monday that it would not do so.

The situation re-opened the debate on abortion and recalled a similar case in 1992 involving a 14-year-old girl who was at first refused, then granted permission to travel to Britain for an abortion. That case attracted international attention to Ireland’s highly restrictive abortion law.

Abortions are legal in Ireland only in limited circumstances, not including rape and incest, and few doctors are willing to perform them. On average, about 5,000 Irish women go to Britain for abortions every year.

In the current case, the 13-year-old girl’s parents said Monday that they would not appeal the lower court’s decision, but insisted that they be allowed to speak to her privately. Her father added that he wanted “to have the baby baptized before it’s killed,” and to have it returned to Ireland “for a Christian burial.”

On Sunday the archbishop of Dublin, Desmond Connell, attacked the lower court decision allowing the girl to travel and said the church would consider paying for an appeal.

He called on Prime Minister Bertie Ahern to intervene, but Ahern instead said he would appoint a committee to study the law. No changes can be expected for at least another year, he indicated.