[JURIST] Ireland’s abortion law threatens [press release] the lives of women who choose to remain in the country, Amnesty International (AI) [advocacy website] said on Tuesday. Under the country’s abortion law, women are only permitted to undergo abortion proceedings if their lives are at risk. AI contends that the law forces more than 4,000 women and girls to travel outside of Ireland for abortions, and those who choose not to travel outside of the country are subject to criminal penalties for seeking abortion inside the country. AI’s corresponding report [text, PDF] documents specific cases wherein authorities have denied women the right to have an abortion, condemning the law in especially those situations where it is difficult to draw the line between a woman’s suffering and potential death. Executive Director of AI Ireland Colm O’Gorman stated:

Ireland’s draconian laws have created a climate of fear where counsellors can be fined for telling women how to seek medical care, and as a result some women are avoiding doctors altogether.

AI also noted that the country’s abortion law, as one of the most restrictive in the world, lies in sharp contrast to its recent national referendum legalizing same-sex marriage [JURIST report].

Abortion [JURIST backgrounder] is a continuing controversial topic within the neighboring state of Northern Ireland. In December the High Court of Ireland ruled [JURIST report] that a pregnant woman may be removed from life support, concluding that the life of an unborn child must be prioritized. Also that month the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) announced that it planned to file a lawsuit [JURIST report] challenging the region’s law against abortions. Northern Ireland’s current abortion law was proposed shortly after the 2013 death of Savita Halappanavar [BBC report], a 31-year-old dentist who was denied a potentially life saving abortion. Following her death, Ireland’s Deputy Prime Minister Eamon Gilmore [official website] pledged [JURIST report] to bring “legal clarity” to the country’s abortion laws. Northern Ireland’s abortion law differs from those of the rest of the UK, and this lawsuit has been long-awaited by international rights groups. In October Ireland’s Department of Justice announced [BBC report] that it would consult with the public in regards to changing the law, but the NIHRC did not believe that this effort was acted upon in a timely manner.