In this issue we show struggles around the world against gender oppression and for freedom
to be in control of who we are, what happens to our bodies and how we live. These
struggles are not usually distinct gender issues, but are intertwined with resistance to
capitalism and the State. They are part of the general movement to create a world without
exploitation and oppression, a society in which the individual can be what they want to be
in free association with others. We call this anarchist-communism. ---- Editorial ---- The
society we live in today is based on divisions between different groups of people. There
is a group at the top who have the main benefits, power and freedom because of their
ownership of most of the world?s resources. Other groups find their lives limited and
controlled. Individuals are born into a particular social class, the working class, which
affects how much money they have, the conditions they work and live in and even their
health. The concept of ?race? is another way of dividing people and has been the source of
some of the most barbarous acts committed by human beings, such as the slave trade and the
holocaust.
In this issue of Resistance, we focus on another way that society oppresses and divides
us: gender- the division of humans into men and women. Similar to ?race?, gender is
considered to have a biological basis. Most people, apart from the most fanatic racists,
now accept that ?race? as a biological category does not exist. There may be differences
in some superficial features such as skin colour, but these are so trivial that there is
no point in talking about distinct races. However, the biological differences between male
and female are more obvious and seemingly more important: the two sexes have different
physical roles in producing children. This biological difference has been the basis of
thousands of years of oppression, discrimination, stereotypes and limited expectations.
Females have been the main losers, but men are also restricted by their assigned roles.
Therefore, if we are going to create a better society we need to free ourselves from the
straightjacket of the categories we are placed in. This means abolishing class (through
getting rid of capitalism) and fighting racism. However, what about gender? We certainly
want to get rid of patriarchy- the domination of men over women, but what about the
categories of ?man? and ?woman? themselves?
---
The Rich get Richer, the Poor have Children
Ireland?s policy on abortion is barbaric and inhumane. Here?s why.
What would you do if the condom broke? If the morning after pill wasn?t available? If you
were pregnant as result of rape? If you found out your much-wanted pregnancy wouldn?t
survive past birth? If you looked around at your life and realised you weren?t ready to be
a parent? What if you lived in a country where abortion is against the law in almost all
circumstances?
Welcome to Ireland in 2014. The 1967 Abortion Act was not extended to Northern Ireland,
and even if women living there travel to mainland England, they are still not allowed to
access an abortion on the NHS but must pay privately. In the Republic of Ireland, abortion
is still governed by the 1861 Offence Against the Persons Act. Much noise was made of the
Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act, which came into effect in January 2014 and
supposedly allows abortion in cases where a woman?s life is at risk, including from suicide.
Even in the extremely limited circumstances under which abortion should be permitted, it
is virtually impossible for women to access. As I write this, there have been a string of
media frenzies about abortion in Ireland and Northern Ireland. In May, a High Court ruling
decided not to disrupt the status quo and continued to deny women resident in Northern
Ireland NHS abortions, even if they came to England, after the mother of a 15 year old
girl questioned her need to ration food and sell things to raise the required funds to
travel and pay privately for an abortion. And last week it was learned that a young
refugee, pregnant as result of rape and suicidal in her desperation not to bear her
rapists child tried to get an abortion in Ireland and instead was given a caesarean
section 25 weeks into her pregnancy.
State Denial
While it is shocking that a state would deny a 15 year old or a raped woman an abortion,
it is not surprising. I work with Abortion Support Network, a grassroots charity that
raises funds to help women forced to travel to access a safe, legal abortion. We do this
because we know that making abortion against the law or restricting it in any way does not
stop or even decrease abortion. It simply ensures a two-tiered system under which women
with money have options and women without money have babies.
Let?s be clear. Abortion Support Network does not hear from the ?average? woman needing an
abortion. Most women who need abortions have things like credit cards, bank accounts,
family they can reach out to for help, jobs. ASN only hears from the women who are
extremely desperate. While there is no typical woman who contacts ASN, there are three
things they all have in common: They are pregnant. They don?t want to be pregnant. And
they are poor.
Asked to talk about the worst case I?d ever heard, I?m at a loss: is it the refugee who
was raped and tortured by prison guards before escaping to Ireland only to find herself
pregnant but unable to obtain a visa to travel for an abortion, or the 17 year old girl
who was considering taking her own life after becoming pregnant as a result of a violent
rape? The woman overcoming a recent bereavement and suffering from severe depression whose
prayers were literally answered when she had a miscarriage rather than needing to travel
to England, or the mother of four trying to figure out how to crash her car badly enough
to induce miscarriage but not badly enough to permanently injure herself or cause death?
These women are forced by circumstances ? usually a combination of draconian abortion laws
and poverty ? to take what should be a personal and private decision and share it, and
many uncomfortable personal details, with a complete stranger. And no matter how nice we
are on the phone, or when a woman is sat in our kitchen with her cup of tea, and of course
it?s lovely that volunteers are willing to open their homes to strangers and isn?t it
great that the sisterhood is alive and well the fact that this close, intimate
relationship is necessary is very, very wrong.
A woman who has looked at her life and decided that now is not the time for her to take on
the responsibility of another human being should not have to go on a 3 hour bus journey,
or get on a plane, or take a ferry, or pawn her jewellery, or lie to her mother, or take
out a ?600 loan that she needs to repay ?900 for, or sleep in her car.
And then there are the practical considerations. Pretend for a minute you are pregnant and
need to travel for an abortion. Here are some of the questions you will wind up asking:
Do I have a current passport or other accepted form of photo ID?
Do I need a visa to travel to England?
Can I get a visa in time to still get an abortion?
Do I have enough money to pay for the abortion and the travel?
Why don?t airfare special sales ever apply to the times when women needing to travel for
an abortion need to go?
What story can I tell the person who will watch my children while I am away for 18 or 36
or 72 hours?
Do I have the money for child care?
Can I tell my partner or my family that I am pregnant or will they pressure me to have the
baby?
How far along am I?
At what point in pregnancy does the cost of an abortion go up?
Can I tell my GP I am pregnant or will he tell my husband/ mother/ neighbours/ boss?
Will having an abortion impact my getting my existing children out of foster care?
How many maxi pads will I need for the trip home?
Since this was a wanted pregnancy with fatal foetal anomalies and I want to have a
funeral, can I put foetal remains in my hand luggage?
Where can I go for advice?
This last one is a big one. There are rogue crisis pregnancy centres all over Ireland and
N Ireland (and England for that matter) but very few that give practical and unbiased
information about all of a woman?s choices. And these places are generally in urban or
city settings, meaning that women in more rural parts of the country often have nowhere to
turn for advice and information other than the internet ? if they have access to the
internet ? and have you ever tried googling ?abortion?? I can?t tell you the number of
women who watched ?The Silent Scream? before calling us.
Location, location, location
A woman?s location is also a huge part of her ability to access an abortion. It?s one
thing if you?re in Dublin or Belfast, but from Galway or Enniskillen or Derry, a 5 minute
surgical procedure can wind up taking up to three days ? and how are your childcare
options looking now?
Finally, all of the obstacles placed in front of women forced to travel for abortion care
? and especially the economic obstacles ? mean that women travelling for abortions are
very often later in term. For instance, less than 1.4% of abortions performed in the UK
take place between 20 and 24 weeks gestation. I?d say at least 7% of the women who contact
us are at that point ? and this is usually because they have been trying to access
information about their options and been trying to raise the money to travel. Sadly, in
Ireland, Northern Ireland and the US there are many cases where by the time a woman raises
the funds and get to the clinic, she is over the legal limit for a termination ? sometimes
by as little as one day.
Here are some things that women have done while trying to raise funds for their abortions:
Sold the car
Sold wedding rings, engagement rings, heirloom jewellery
Not paid rent
Skipped lunch for a month
Chased packages of birth control pills with bottles of gin
Not bought Christmas presents for their kids
Cut off the electricity
Drunk floor cleaner
Since we opened in 2009, ASN has heard from 1500 women. 1500 women who ranged in age from
51 down to 13, who were in or escaping abusive relationships, had serious mental or
physical health issues, were carrying wanted pregnancies with fatal foetal anomalies,
women and families with children unable to afford more. On 12 June the UK Department of
Health published their report on Abortion Statistics for 2013. These numbers showed a
reduction in the number of women from Ireland and Northern Ireland travelling to England
to access a safe and legal abortion ? 4,481, down from 4,887 ? the lowest reported number
since 1969. They do not include the women who come to England and give the address of a
local friend or family member, the women who travel to other countries to access
abortions, or the hundreds ? if not thousands ? of women who obtain early medical abortion
pills online from Women on Web. These numbers also do not capture the women who cannot
travel for reasons of cost, or childcare or anything else.
The law as it stands fails all women in Ireland. But when you make abortion against the
law, or restrict it in any way, women only have options if they have a passport, a credit
card, someone to watch their kids, and the ?400 to ?2000 it costs to travel and pay
privately for an abortion. Other than ending patriarchy and changing the beliefs of people
who can?t seem to grasp that choosing not to have a child at a particular point in your
life, or ever, is in itself a valid, moral decision that is, to put it bluntly, not their
business, there are interim solutions. Ireland?s Abortion Rights Campaign and Northern
Ireland?s Alliance for Choice are fighting tooth and nail for law reform, while groups
like Speaking of I.M.E.L.D.A (Ireland Making England the Legal Destination for Abortion)
take less traditional approaches to raising public awareness and helping women access
abortions.
Mara Clarke is the Founder and Director of Abortion Support Network.
Please visit: https://www.abortionsupport.org.uk/
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» (en) Britain, The Anarchist Federation (AFED), RESISTANCE bulletin issue #157 Autumn 2014 ANGRY WOMEN WIN, SPECIAL ISSUE - The Rich get Richer, the Poor have Children