Attorney General v. X (This is the first in an upcoming series on famous cases in the field of human rights)

The Republic of Ireland has not always been known for its progressive stance on abortion. In 1861, abortion was made a criminal offence in Ireland under the Offences Against the Person Act. In 1983, the country's Constitution was amended to reflect that the life of the unborn held equal weight to the life of the mother. As a predominantly Catholic country, it naturally follows the tenets of Catholicism: life begins at the moment of conception, and to suggest otherwise is contrary to the fundamental teachings of the religion.

This was the backdrop against which the X Case played out.

FACTS: X was a 14 year old girl (her name was not revealed as she was underage), who was raped by a 50 year old neighbour in December of 1991. She fell pregnant from the rape, and told her mother that she was having suicidal thoughts as a result.

Her family planned to take her to the United Kingdom to carry out an abortion, but the Attorney General of Ireland sought an injunction to prevent her from undergoing the procedure. When the case reached the Supreme Court, they held that a woman had a right to abortion "if there was a real and substantial risk to her life".

The risk in this case was the possibility of suicide.

BOTTOMLINE: As journalist Fintan O'Toole put it: "The State was going to force a child to bear a child for her rapist." The Supreme Court stopped it, but it is important to note that it was only her impending suicide that won her case. As the fall of Roe in America proved, the rights of girls and women globally have never been completely secure.

Image from: https://www.oireachtas.ie/en/bills/