Document Detail


"Pro-life" absolutes, feminist challenges: the fundamentalist narrative of Irish abortion law 1986-1992.
MedLine Citation:
PMID:  16184660     Owner:  KIE     Status:  MEDLINE    
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
This article asks how Irish abortion law developed to the point of stopping a young pregnant rape victim from travelling abroad to have an abortion in 1992 (Attorney General v.X). The author argues that this case, which ultimately saw the Irish Supreme Court overturn that decision and recognize the young woman's right to abortion, was the last chapter of the fundamentalist narrative of Irish abortion law. The feminist critique of that law needs to consider its particular fundamentalist aspects in order to clarify the obstacles posed to the struggle for Irish women's reproductive freedom. The author argues that a fundamentalist narrative ordered the post-colonial and patriarchal conditions of Irish society so as to call for the legal recognition of an absolute right to life of the "unborn." The Supreme Court's interpretation of the constitutional right to life of the fetus in three cases during the 1980s is evidence that Irish abortion law was constructed through a fundamentalist narrative until that narrative was rejected in the Supreme Court decision in Attorney General v. X.
Authors:
R Fletcher
Publication Detail:
Type:  Historical Article; Journal Article    
Journal Detail:
Title:  Osgoode Hall law journal     Volume:  36     ISSN:  0030-6185     ISO Abbreviation:  Osgoode Hall Law J     Publication Date:  1998  
Date Detail:
Created Date:  2005-09-26     Completed Date:  2005-12-19     Revised Date:  2007-11-15    
Medline Journal Info:
Nlm Unique ID:  100972338     Medline TA:  Osgoode Hall Law J     Country:  Canada    
Other Details:
Languages:  eng     Pagination:  1-62     Citation Subset:  E    
Affiliation:
Osgoode Hall Law School, York University, Canada.
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MeSH Terms
Descriptor/Qualifier:
Adolescent
Catholicism*
European Union
Female
Feminism*
Fetus*
Great Britain
Health Services Accessibility / legislation & jurisprudence
History, 20th Century
Humans
Ireland
Legislation as Topic / history*
Maternal-Fetal Relations
Politics
Pregnancy
Pregnant Women
Rape / legislation & jurisprudence
Reproductive Rights / legislation & jurisprudence*
Social Control, Informal
Social Values
Value of Life
Women's Rights* / legislation & jurisprudence

From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine


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