January 20, 2016

Irish women are live tweeting their periods for a very good reason

editor:	Vanessa Ellingham

The pro-choice campaign for abortions is reaching a head in Ireland, with women live tweeting their periods to the taoiseach, Edna Kenny, in response to politicians showing so much interest in having control over women's bodies.

The tweets documenting Irish women's menstruation - many of which are amusing - along with messages of support are collected using the hashtag #repealthe8th - a call to overturn the eighth amendment to the Republic of Ireland constitution, which criminalises abortion by putting the right to life of a foetus on an equal footing to that of the woman carrying it.

One enraged tweet reads: "I'm bleeding! @EndaKennyTD Bleedin outraged that Irish women in the 21st Century don't have the right to chose #repealthe8th".

Others are more technical: "@EndaKennyTD Hi Enda, my ovulation day was a week ago today. 11 more days of freedom. And then it'll be a bloody nightmare #repealthe8th."

And some write to the taoiseach as if he is a girlfriend who knows the most intimate details of a woman's cycle: "@endakennytd I'm definitely PMS-ing so I'm not pregnant - phew! #dodgedabullet #repealthe8th."

In January 2014 the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act finally came into force, legalising abortions made necessary of the woman is in poor health.

But this was only after Savita Halappanavar was allowed to die in October 2012. Her obstetrician had waited until the foetus was dead instead of giving her the abortion that she had repeatedly requested, resulting in two lost lives.

But the ability for a women to choose is still not legal - in fact, serious mental illnesses are still not reason enough to obtain permission for an abortion in many cases. Women on the brink of suicide have been forced to stay pregnant against their will.

The argument that women could fake a suicide attempt in order to get an abortion is what has been holding back change.

As Irish psychiatrist Veronica O’Keane explained in a piece for Amnesty International:

"Because of this, unrealistic obstacles were put in the way of women who needed an abortion under these circumstances.

"For example, if a woman had obstetric complications, she would only need her obstetrician to agree to allow her an abortion. However, if she were suicidal, she would need two psychiatrists, an obstetrician and her family doctor (or a doctor in the Accident and Emergency department of a general hospital) to agree to grant her one."

In May 2015, Ireland legalised same-sex marriage by referendum, which was quickly followed by the decision to allow people to change their gender identity without medical opinion. In short: people are allowed to choose who they want to be without a doctor's permission.

And yet, Irish women still lack the right to choose.

"In Ireland we are now in the unique position of having equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) people while women have virtually no legal right to abortion," writes O'Keane.

"Until it is decriminalized, abortion will not be available to women in Ireland. Doctors will not risk breaking the law: to do so could mean a prison sentence of up to 14 years. This is laid down in the Act."

Amnesty International is currently running the campaign #notacriminal in support of women seeking the right to legally terminate unwanted pregnancies.

The dichotomy above, produced for the campaign, shows the fraught paths to abortion currently available to Irish women.