Ivana the Terrible
Photo courtesy of/taken from Bacik's Web SiteSaturday's Irish Times contains a terrifically cogent argument (login needed) explaining how Ivana Bacik and the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) have gone astray in their bid to make abortion "safe and legal" in Ireland. Partially copying Bill Clinton's slogan "safe, legal and rare", the IFPA's message sounds particularly hackneyed.
As a one-time supporter of Bacik, I am extremely disappointed to see how easy she is with la cause du jour. If somebody is being persecuted unjustly, if their rights are being impinged upon, who you gonna call? Ivana Bacik, of course.
It is interesting to note that two previous holders of the Reid Professorship of Law in Trinners have been Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese. Ivana's two predecessors actively championed the rights of the downtrodden and the marginalised. The both went on to become President and it seems Ivana is attempting to go down that same path.
However, Bacik has taken a wrong turn. While Robinson fought for women's rights (notably the abolition of the ban on married women working in the civil service) and McAleese battled for the decriminalisation of homosexuality, Bacik has done the opposite. She has sought the deny the unborn their rights, not by asking the Irish public their opinion, but via the European Court of Human Rights route.
I voted #1 for Ivana Bacik last time round. She'll more than likely run for the Dáil in 2007. You can be sure that if she comes to canvass, I'll tell her where she's going wrong, and what genuine causes she should keep an eye out for. And then I'll tell her that I'm voting for the Greens (desperation stakes here).
Published by Colm.
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