An Irish woman has filed a petition with the United Nations Human Rights Committee alleging Ireland’s failure to legalise abortion in the case of foetal non-viability, constitutes inhuman and degrading treatment. Amanda Mellet was 22 weeks pregnant when she discovered that her foetus had Edwards’ Syndrome, a fatal abnormality. She travelled to Liverpool for a termination as Ireland does not permit abortions due to foetal abnormality. Ms Mellet’s case is the first of three Irish petitions to be lodged before the UN Human Rights Committee on the issue of abortion in the case of fatal foetal abnormality. The other two women will file petitions early next year. All three are members of Terminations for Medical Reasons organisation. The New York-based Centre for Reproductive Rights, filed the petition on their behalf.
This is not the first time that Ireland’s position on foetal abnormality has been challenged internationally. In the European Court of Human Rights admissibility decision of D v Ireland, Ms D alleged that Ireland’s prohibition of abortion in these circumstances violated her rights under Article 1 (obligation to respect human rights), Article 3 (prohibition of torture and inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment), Article 8 (the right to privacy and family life) and Article 10 (freedom of expression/right to receive information) Article 13 (right to an effective remedy) and Article 14 (prohibition of discrimination) of the European Convention on Human Rights. However the case was not deemed admissible as the applicant had failed to exhaust domestic remedies. The government successfully argued that pursuing redress in the domestic Irish courts would not have been futile, as it was not certain that the courts would consider a non-viable foetus to be an unborn child within the meaning of the Constitution.
Click here to read an article in the Irish Times about the petition.