Procedural Abortion Rights: Ireland and the European Court of Human Rights

Authors

Joanna Erdman, Dalhousie University Schulich School of Law

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2014

Keywords

Abortion law and policy, human rights, litigation, legal reform, Europe

Abstract

The Irish Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act seeks to clarify the legal ground for abortion in cases of risk to life, and to create procedures to regulate women’s access to services under it. This article explores the new law as the outcome of an international human rights litigation strategy premised on state duties to implement abortion laws through clear standards and procedural safeguards. It focuses specifically on the Irish law reform and the jurisprudence of the European Court of Human Rights, including A. B. and C. v. Ireland (2010). The article examines how procedural rights at the international level can engender domestic law reform that limits or expands women’s access to lawful abortion services, serving conservative or progressive ends.

Comments

From Selected Works of Joanna N. Erdman

Recommended Citation

Joanna N. Erdman, “Procedural Abortion Rights: Ireland and the European Court of Human Rights” (2014) 22:44 RHM 22-30.

Publication Abbreviation

RHM