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Absence of Death is now an e-book
Vidock Vidock (and Sensei) in Absence of Death now available as e-book.As they prepare for battle, Sensei explains:I let Vidock smell the wrapping of our food from Ghillie’s, and ask him if he remembers the place.I hadn’t realised until now that he can roll his eyes in a don’t-bloody-patronise-me sort of way.If the dog could talk, these might be even better stories…The age-old ‘terrorist or…
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Citizen Assembly
What is the future of citizen participation? Some say that citizen assembly is the answer.
Assemblies have received increasing attention in recent years as they proved to be helpful when dealing with the most troublesome policies while also preserving our democratic ideals. Members of citizen assemblies are chosen randomly and they are not necessarily experts in a given field, but what matters is that this selection is representative of the wider populations in terms of age, gender, education level, etc.
The benefits of citizen assemblies come as follows: - citizen deliberation helps citizens to understand the complexity of policy dilemmas; - they help local governments to tap into the collective intelligence; - people can take unpopular decisions if needed; - they restore the trust in democratic institutions.
If you want to learn more, CitizenLab has prepared an article about opportunities that citizen assembly might provide the local community with.
Moreover, if you are interested in launching a citizen assembly, CitizenLab platform offers an online workshop feature that proves well with deliberations.
An admission that certain decision makers have lost control and a clear indication that they are out of their depth! On Friday night as part of Any Questions on Radio 4 Gisela Stuart and Stella Creasy both made some interesting comments regarding how and when our nation will depart from the EU.
The Week on Twitter | Leo Varadkar, Bernie Sanders, & Fyre Festival
http://dlvr.it/P0xzXs #HeadStuff
A Little Thought on Bodily Autonomy in Ireland
On the 28th of October 2012, a woman died. Her name was Savita Halappanavar. She was 17 weeks pregnant. She died needlessly.
Owing to the complete ban on abortion in Ireland, (how does a 14 year stint in prison sound?) Savita’s request for an abortion was denied by the doctors, who were aware that her baby was dying in her womb and placing her life at risk. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_of_Savita_Halappanavar
In the aftermath, under extreme pressure (both nationally and internationally) the Irish government legislated for abortion in highly specific conditions, and only if the woman’s life were in danger, the so-called Protection of Life in Pregnancy Act. This includes risk of suicide - if you can prove it. You have to prove in front of a panel of ‘experts’ that you are sufficiently suicidal to warrant an abortion. (I honestly can’t even… just… ffs) https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protection_of_Life_During_Pregnancy_Act_2013
A mere number of months after the passing of said legislation, in 2014, came the Miss Y case. Miss Y was an asylum seeker who, upon arrival in Ireland, discovered that she had become pregnant as a result of rape, and was suicidal. Her request for an abortion was denied. When she went on hunger strike, a court order was delivered to forcibly hydrate her. I kid you fucking not. Her child was finally ‘delivered’ via c-section at 25 weeks. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ms_Y
In December of 2014, a woman, this time 18 weeks pregnant, was pronounced brain-dead and placed on life-support. Thanks to the restrictive laws surrounding the protection of the unborn (going so far as to being enshrined in the constitution) the medical staff at the hospital were left in an untenable position. They were left in a situation where they could not act according to the wishes of the woman’s family, and take her off life support. This resulted in a court case, where a brain-dead woman was left, against the wishes of her family (at Christmas, no less), in a state of pause, unable to die, because the life of her child, an unviable pregnancy now, no matter how you look at it, was deemed as valid as the woman’s. This went on for three weeks, until the court ruled in favour of turning off life-support.
https://www.google.ie/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/world/2014/dec/26/ireland-court-rules-brain-dead-pregnant-womans-life-support-switched-off
Since then, pressure has increased on the Irish government to change the restrictive laws, to call a referendum to repeal the 8th amendment -the very article which gives the unborn and the mother equal rights to life- and they have resisted despite this sickening list of events, despite overwhelming public demand for change. They refuse to take a stance on the issue.
In December 2015, almost a year after the hideous life-support incident, Taoiseach Enda Kenny, the Irish prime minister, pledged to form a ‘Citizens Assembly’, consisting of 100 men and women, of all ages and creeds, to hear arguments from both pro-choice and anti-choice/pro-life groups, as well as from medical and legal professionals, in order to make an informed decision on the matter. They would then put forward a series of proposals and recommendations, for the government to debate on.
https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/oireachtas/taoiseach-pledges-citizens-assembly-on-abortion-issue-1.2469135%3Fmode%3Damp
It was a contentious decision. Some feel it was an exercise in time-wasting, another delay tactic, while others felt that it was a measured response from the government.
In October 2016, the Citizens Assembly met for the first time. Now, over six months later, they have delivered their judgement. While they have voted to retain the article in question, they have recommended that it be amended to allow for abortion, once again in specific circumstances.
They have recommended that a woman should be allowed unrestrained access to abortion, within the first twelve weeks of pregnancy. They have recommended that abortion be allowed beyond that point up to 22 weeks of pregnancy, in cases of risk to the mothers wellbeing (physical or mental), in cases of FFA, in cases of rape and incest, among other suggestions. The result of the Assembly vote is a great surprise, and a very positive step, in a country that has allowed conservative values and the Catholic church to hold too much sway, particularly in political spheres.
https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/citizens-assembly-votes-87-to-13-to-change-abortion-law-1.3057940%3Fmode%3Damp http://m.independent.ie/irish-news/citizens-assembly-votes-overwhelmingly-for-women-to-have-the-right-to-abortion-in-ireland-35646537.html
And already the politicians are backtracking, attempting to dilute and alter the recommendations of the Assembly.
According to RTE News, outside government buildings Leinster House, as of this evening:
“The first thing to say is that the very liberal package of recommendations from the Citizens’ Assembly took people very much by surprise here. There was astonishment across all parties that they had recommended something that, it has to be said, is politically unsaleable.
“Only around 24% of the electorate, in the last comparable opinion poll, backed a regime that is that liberal. So, the task of this committee that will be meeting from June onwards is essentially to water down these proposals to the point that they’re not politically toxic. Because if these, if this package was put to the people, the view in Leinster House, certainly is, that it would surely fail.
“But, of course, the timing and the timescale is a problem because, with the best will in the world, this committee, if it sits in June and reports in September, if it works through the summer, there’ll be very limited legislative time. And the Dáil returns in October, we have the budget, we have the social welfare bill, so, effectively, the first time we could contemplate having any referendum on this is next year, maybe around April next year.
“And, of course, that’s the time when you could be facing a general election, if the package between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil unravels. but one thing I have detected around Leinster House today is that there does seem to be, there does seem to be a will to crack on with this now. If only to make sure that the issue is disposed of before that general election but ultimately this will be a problem for a new Taoiseach and, potentially, a new Government.”
I am so unspeakably angry. I am shaking with it and my eyes burn with tears. 12 women every day seek an abortion in this country, and are forced to travel to England, for a service they ought to be entitled to in their home country, without judgement and without the need to justify their decision to anyone.
Time and again, the Irish people have shown that the will and the need for change, for choice, is there. And time and again we have been ignored by the very people who were elected to best represent the wishes and needs of the people. They have failed us, time and again.
No woman chooses to get pregnant so she can choose to have an abortion. Women will not make a different decision because they have the choice, the freedom, to terminate their pregnancy simply because its an option. If a woman chooses to have an abortion, she does NOT make that decision lightly, she makes it for personal reasons and we are not entitled to know them. Women are more than capable of understanding the ramifications of their choice, one way or the other. Women deserve to have their choices respected, even if you don’t agree with them. Women deserve to have their bodily autonomy. We deserve the fucking choice.
Welcome to Ireland, where I’m watching complete strangers on a live stream make decisions on what to recommend to my government how much they can legally control my body 🙃🙃🙃
The Week on Twitter | Citizens’ Assembly, National Maternity Hospital, & Theresa May
http://dlvr.it/NyGGBb #HeadStuff
The Week on Twitter | Home Sweet Home, Kanye, & the Citizens’ Assembly
http://dlvr.it/MwFfQZ #HeadStuff
