A, B, and C leads to d (for delegation!)

Medical Law Review

Volumn 19, Issue 3, 2011, Pages 476-491

  McGuinness, Sheelagh ^a  

^a KEELE UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

FEMALE; HEALTH CARE DELIVERY; HUMAN; HUMAN RIGHTS; IRELAND; LEGAL ABORTION; LEGAL ASPECT; NOTE; PREGNANCY;

ABORTION, LEGAL; FEMALE; HEALTH SERVICES ACCESSIBILITY; HUMAN RIGHTS; HUMANS; IRELAND; PREGNANCY;

EID: 80051998688     PISSN: 09670742     EISSN: 14643790     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1093/medlaw/fwr021     Document Type: Note

References (81)

1. A, B and C v Ireland-25579/05 [2010] ECHR 2032 (December 16 2010) [hereafter 'A', 'B', and 'C']. For previous cases, see Open Door and Dublin Well Woman v Ireland-14234/88 [1992] ECHR 68 (October 29 1992). This case concerned the provision of information about abortion services; Norris v Ireland-10581/83 [1988] ECHR 22 (October 26 1988). This case concerned domestic prohibitions on homosexual activity.
2. Ann Rossiter, Ireland's Hidden Diaspora (Iasc Publishing, London 2009).
3. Marie Fox and Therese Murphy, 'Irish Abortion: Seeking Refuge in a Jurisprudence of Doubt and Delegation' (1992) 19 Journal of Law and Society 454-466.
4. A, B and C at 237.
5. Tysiac v Poland-5410/03 [2007] ECHR 212 (September 24 2007).
6. A, B and C at 267.
7. Jennifer Schweppe, 'A, B and C v Ireland: How to Respond'. accessed June 27 2011.
8. 'ACTION PLAN A, B, and C v Ireland-Application no 25579/2005, Grand Chamber judgment on December 16 2010, Information submitted by the Government of Ireland on June 16 2011 accessed June 25 2011.
9. Paolo Ronchi, 'A B and C v Ireland Europes Roe v Wade still Has to Wait', Law Quarterly Review 2011;127:365-369.
10. A, B, and C at 214.
11. Unusual in comparison to regulation in other jurisdictions that have ratified the Convention.
12. Offences Against the Person Act 1861 ss. 58 and 59.
13. [1939] 1 KB 687.
14. James Kingston, Anthony Whelan and Ivana Bacik, Abortion and the Law (Round Hall Sweet and Maxwell, Dublin, 1997) Ch 1.
15. [1989] IR 753.
16. Health (Family Planning) Act 1979 s.10.
17. Roe v Wade (410 US 113 (1973)).
18. Christa vanWijnbergen 'Ireland and the ratification of the Maastricht Treaty' in Finn Laursen and Sophie Vanhoonacker (eds) The Ratification of the Maastricht Treaty: Issues, Debates and Future Implications (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht, 1994).
19. Attorney General v X. [1992] 1 I.R. 1.
20. Attorney General v X. [1992] 1 I.R. 1.
21. A and B v Eastern Health Board, Judge Mary Fahy and C, and the Attorney General (notice party), [1998] 1 IR 464.
22. Attorney General v X. [1992] 1 I.R. 1 at 147.
23. Roche v Roche and Ors [2009] IESC 82.
24. See, for example, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties policy document on abortion legislation, The Need for Abortion Law Reform in Ireland: The Case Against the Twenty-Fifth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 2001 (ICCL, Dublin, 2002).
25. Report of the Constitution Review Group (Stationery Office, Dublin, 1996).
26. Fifth Progress Report: Abortion (Stationery Office, Dublin, 2000).
27. 'European Human Rights Chief Hits out at Lack of Abortion Laws Here', The Independent accessed June 25 2011.
28. This visit was in the wake of Parliamentary Assembly Council of Europe Resolution 1607 (2008) 'Access to safe and legal abortion in Europe' .
29. For a more recent criticism, see 'Coalition Urged to Clarify Law on Abortion', The Irish Times both accessed June 25 2011.
30. 'Ireland: Abortion Limits Violate Human Rights', accessed June 15 2011.
31. A and B v Eastern Health Board [1997] IEHC 176 as per Geoghegan J. at 15 noted in A, B, and C at 258.
32. This ambiguity is well illustrated in the C case mentioned above where although the Courts held that C met the criteria for abortion set out in X, C in the end travelled to the UK for an abortion which was paid for by the Irish government.
33. See Lisa Smyth 'Guest Post: Smyth on A,B and C' accessed June 27 2011.
34. European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2003/en/act/pub/0020/index.html (Accessed June 15th 2011).
35. A, B and C v Ireland at 15.
36. A, B and C v Ireland at 26.
37. A, B and C at 214.
38. A, B and C v Ireland at 3. [emphasis added].
39. A, B, and C at 241.
40. Stijn Smet 'A., B. and C. v Ireland: Abortion and the Margin of Appreciation' http://strasbourgobservers.com/2010/12/17/a-b-and-c-v-ireland-abortionand-the-margin-of-appreciation/(Accessed June 15th 2011).
41. Tysiac v Poland - 5410/03 [2007] ECHR 212 (24th September 2007).
42. A, B, and C at 235.
43. A, B, and C at 236-it should be noted that there were some dissenting judgments on this point.
44. Vo v France, 53924/00 [2004] ECHR 326 (July 8 2004).
45. A, B, and C at 237.
46. Paolo Ronchi, 'A, B and C v Ireland Europe's Roe v Wade Still Has to Wait', Law Quarterly Review (forthcoming).
47. A, B, and C at 222-226.
48. 'Three-quarters of Population Favour Liberalisation of Abortion Laws in Ireland' .
49. 'Survey: 60% in Favour of Legal Abortion' both accessed June 15 2011.
50. A, B, and C at 226.
51. A, B and C at 183.
52. For a detailed discussion of the link between abortion and cultural identity, see Ruth Fletcher, 'Post-colonial Fragments: Representations of Abortion in Irish Law and Politics' (2001) 28 Journal of Law and Society 568-89.
53. It states that, "Nothing in the Treaty on European Union, or in the Treaties Establishing the European Communities, or in the Treaties or Acts Modifying or Supplementing Those Treaties, Shall Affect the Application in Ireland of Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution of Ireland.
54. accessed June 28 2011.
55. Christa van Wijnbergen, 'Ireland and the Ratification of the Maastricht Treaty' in Finn Laursen and Sophie Vanhoonacker (eds) The Ratification of the Maastricht Treaty: Issues, Debates and Future Implications (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht 1994) 184.
56. Christa van Wijnbergen, 'Ireland and the Ratification of the Maastricht Treaty' in Finn Laursen and Sophie Vanhoonacker (eds) The Ratification of the Maastricht Treaty: Issues, Debates and Future Implications (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht, 1994).
57. accessed June 27 2011.
58. Treaty of the European Union accessed June 27 2011, p 408.
59. See further Christa van Wijnbergen, 'Ireland and the Ratification of the Maastricht Treaty' in Finn Laursen and Sophie Vanhoonacker (eds) The Ratification of the Maastricht Treaty: Issues, Debates and Future Implications (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers, Dordrecht, 1994).
60. And the comments of Professor William Schabas at accessed June 27 2011.
61. Barbara Hewson, 'Ireland's Miss D: a "Bizarre Dispute"' accessed June 15 2011.
62. Barbara Hewson, 'Ireland's Miss D: a "Bizarre Dispute"' accessed June 15 2011.
63. D v Ireland-26499/02 (27 June 2006)
64. Lisa Smyth 'From Rights to Compassion: the D Case and Contmporary Abortion Politics' in Jennifer Schweppe (ed.) 25 Years of Protection? Article 40.3.3°, The Unborn Child and Abortion in Ireland (Liffey Press, Dublin; 2008) 47-64.
65. Morgan Healy, 'Irish Women Politicians and Abortion: Hope for Change after the ECHR Ruling' http://www.humanrights.ie/index.php/2011/01/10/irish-women-politicians-and-abortion-hope-for-change-after-the-echrruling/(Accessed June 15th 2011).
66. Máiréad Enright 'A, B and C v Ireland: Update' accessed June 15th 2011).
67. Morgan Healy 'Irish Women Politicians and Abortion: Hope for Change after the ECHR Ruling' accessed June 15 2011.
68. ACTION PLAN A, B, and C v Ireland, Application no 25579/2005, Grand Chamber judgment December 16 2010, Information submitted by the Government of Ireland on June 16 2011 accessed June 25 2011.
69. 'Anniversary Blognival: Hanafin on Human Rights and Reproduction' accessed June 25 2011.
70. For a summary of these, see A, B, and C at 62-88.
71. A, B, and C at 253.
72. Patricia Lohr as quoted in Mairead Enright, 'A,B, and C v. Ireland starts today' accessed June 15 2011.
73. For an interesting discussion of this issue, see Ciara Staunton, 'As Easy as A, B and C: Will A, B and C v. Ireland Be Ireland's Wake-up Call for Abortion Rights?' (2011) 18 European Journal of Health Law 205-219.
74. 'Minister Must Prioritise Laws on Either Abortion or Fertility' accessed June 15 2011.
75. See Sheelagh McGuinness and Sorcha Ui Chonnachtaigh, 'Implications of Recent Developments in Ireland for the Status of the Embryo' (2011) 20 Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 396-408.
76. Marie Fox and Therese Murphy, 'Irish Abortion: Seeking Refuge in a Jurisprudence of Doubt and Delegation' (1992) 19 Journal of Law and Society 454-455.
77. 'Irish women need cash not ash!' Abortion Support Network: Annual Report 2010 accessed June 15 2011.
78. 'Customs seized 1,216 packs of illegal abortion drugs in 2009' accessed June 15 2011.
79. See n 71.
80. 'Concern on Illegal Irish Abortions' both accessed June 15 2011.
81. Mary Gilmartin, 'Abortion and the Politics of Mobility: Gilmartin on A, B and C'. accessed June 15 2011.