Campaign to overturn Ireland's laws

Comedy writer Graham Linehan and his wife Helen have spoken movingly about their agonising decision to an abortion, as part of a campaign overturn Ireland's strict laws banning the procedure.

In an emotional YouTube video, the couple relived the trauma of learning that their longed-for baby had a condition that meant it would die soon after birth, so made the heartbreaking decision to terminate it.

The Father Ted and IT Crowd creator pointed out that his wife – also a writer, and the sister of comedy star Peter Serafinowicz – would have faced a 14-year jail sentence had it she had the abortion in Ireland.

Helen became pregnant in 2004, quite soon into their marriage, but they found out that their foetus had acrania, which meant it would survive in the womb, but die in agony within an hour of birth.

In the video, in support of Amnesty's Internationals campaign against the draconian laws, Helen said: 'It has a 100 per cent mortality rate. I could carry that baby; it would survive in the womb but as soon as it was born it would survive for about an hour and suffer and be terrible; awful. So we booked in to have an abortion.'

Choking back tears she said: 'It's very traumatic sitting in a waiting room with heavily pregnant women knowing this little fluter in my stomach was not going to survive. So we hd this scan; it was on the Friday and we were booked in on the following Monday to have an termination, so we had the weekend living with this.

'It was really hard; It was awful because I was being sick with morning sickness up to the very moment I was wheeled into the theatre. It was very sad but I just praise the treatment and the support we were given by the hospital because in other places it was different.'

She added: 'I would have gone full term knowing that this baby… going to shops and everyday life, with people commenting "when are you du due" and all that …. knowing this little baby's not going to survive. Who knows what pain it goes through when it's born.

'Oh, it's just awful, awful, dreadful to think about, All I wanted to do was get over that hurdle of what happened to us and try again and move on.'

Graham added: 'In Ireland Helen would go to jail for going through with that operation. The idea that it's illegal in the country where I was born….

'I'm very proud to call myself Irish but I' thoroughly ashamed of our abortion laws. It's about time Ireland grew up about that. Irish politicians need to treat this as the emergency that it is. We will not be a mature country until we move past this point.'

Abortion is illegal under the eighth amendment of the Irish constitution, introduced following a 1983 referendum, which puts the foetus's right to life on the same footing as a woman's.

Amnesty has launched a campaign to repeal that amendment. They say: 'Ireland has one of the world's most restrictive abortion laws. Seeking a termination even on grounds of rape, incest, or where the foetus won't survive could get you 14 years in prison. Thousands of women risk everything to travel overseas for an abortion. Many others cannot. Ireland is violating the rights of its women and girls. Ask Ireland's Prime Minister to change the law.'

Support the campaign at https://www.amnesty.org.uk/ireland

Published: 19 Oct 2015