– Release date: 31 October 2000
"In 25 years I had had seven children and two miscarriages. I couldn't believe that at 45 I was having an abortion." – Jean's Story
The Irish Journey – Women's Stories of Abortion is a ground-breaking new book detailing firsthand accounts by Irish women about their experiences of abortion.
Stories from The Irish Journey will be read by well-known Irish people including Frances Fitzgerald TD, Inez Mc Cormack, Proinsias de Rossa MEP, Theo Dorgan, Nial Stokes and Nell Mc Cafferty at a unique educational seminar organised by the IFPA called:
Voices of Reason II. Perspectives on the Reality of Irish Abortion – Irish Women Tell Their Stories
on Saturday November 4th 2000 at 1.45pm in The Arts Building Trinity College Dublin.
The Irish Journey smashes stereotypes about what women have abortions and why. These eighteen stories unravel complex emotions, the pain of crisis pregnancy and the trauma of travel in a wide ranging collection of voices.
An Introduction to The Irish Journey is provided by Medb Ruane which gives the stories a well balanced and superbly crafted context, allowing readers a unique and complex view of the effects of Ireland's current abortion regime on women and their families.
Sherie de Burgh, the IFPA's Director of Counselling prefaces the book explaining to us how the dire need for such a publication came from the poverty of women's voices being heard in the ongoing abortion debates.
Voices of Reason II is a follow-up to a highly successful seminar held two years ago and will create a safe and respectful space where Irish women's authentic abortion experiences can be heard and assimilated into Irish consciousness. Speakers from organisations that deal directly with women will respond to stories and provide their own perspectives on what is really going on for women with crisis pregnancies. The stories and speakers will be complemented by an exhibition of websites, information stands and artwork.