A second week dominated by abortion debate

The abortion debate continues to grip the media, however bias continues to raise its unjust head, writes Brendan O’Regan

At the end of last week’s column I noted the Belfast High Court judgement on abortion, and predictably that sparked a second week when the issue was prominent in the media, though curiously I heard no programme that explored in detail what an abortion actually is! 

On Monday of last week Newstalk’s Lunchtime show featured four pro-choice speakers and no pro-life voices at all. With no apparent awareness of the irony, Colm O’Gorman of Amnesty Ireland, welcoming the judgement, said: “human rights apply to all people”. 

Over on RTÉ Radio 1’s News at One there was one pro-choice speaker and no one putting forward a pro-life perspective. That evening’s Drivetime redressed RTÉ’s imbalance when Philip Boucher Hayes interviewed Liam Gibson of the Society for Protection of the Unborn Child. 

The Last Word on Today FM had a balanced debate – Colm O’Gorman debating with Bernadette Smyth of Precious Life, a pro-life group based in the North, but The Right Hook (Newstalk) had only Health Minister Leo Varadkar. The minister said he didn’t want to see politicians and parties pressurised into making “specific commitments” in the run up to an election. I’ll bet! That night’s Tonight with Vincent Browne featured Wendy Grace of Spirit Radio putting the pro-life perspective against at least three speakers who were pro-choice to varying degrees.

On Tuesday, Lunchtime (Newstalk) and News at One (RTÉ Radio 1) featured Bishop John McAreavey of Dromore, who gave a robust defence of the Church’s position, indeed of the inclusive human rights position, suggesting that “once you concede the principle that some lives are not worthy of protection then I think every life is under question”. 

Neither interview was easy, but Bishop McAreavey came across as both compassionate and principled.

Tuesday night’s Prime Time had a balanced discussion when Senator Rónán Mullen and Clare Daly TD debated vigorously, but then on that night’s Late Debate (RTÉ Radio 1) the imbalance returned when Senator Paul Bradford was the only one proposing a pro-life perspective, with Senator Averil Power and Finian McGrath to varying degrees on the pro-choice side. 

Senator Bradford returned to the fray on Thursday night’s Tonight with Vincent Browne (TV3), with the able assistance of Cora Sherlock of the Pro-Life Campaign, in debate with Minister Aodhán O’Ríordáin and Arlette Lyons of Terminations for Medical Reasons.

From Wednesday the Pat Kenny Show (Newstalk) ran a series on the topic (smelt like a campaign to me). First we got a soft, lengthy and repulsive interview/promotion on Wednesday with Mara Clarke who cheerfully outlined how she assists Irish women in the procurement of abortion. 

There followed an even worse interview with an unnamed abortion surgeon, whose descriptions of the procedure were allowed to be sanitised, but were still horrific. On Thursday, it was the turn of pro-choice activist Vanessa O’Sullivan who described traveling for an abortion after rape, the easiest decision ever, she said. 

That show also included a debate between Cora Sherlock and Janette Ní Shúilleabháin in which Sherlock castigated media bias, in particular Newstalk’s approach to the subject that week. Pat Kenny offered little response to that. There was no sign of the stories of the women who regret their abortions – why? 

On Friday, Sarah Hynes spoke movingly of letting her baby come to full term despite a devastating diagnosis. Her voice and experience were welcome, but by last Sunday her contribution was not available on Newstalk’s ‘Special Report’ webpage, though the pro-choice contributions of O’Sullivan and Clarke were. 

The last hour of the programme showed disgraceful partiality when the discussion that rounded off the week’s abortion-related items featured no pro-life perspective, with Dr Peter Boylan, obstetrician and pro-choice campaigner, getting large amounts of airtime to promote his views.

Finally, honourable mention must go to an excellent Would You Believe? special on Tuesday night of last week (RTÉ One). This moving documentary followed a group of cancer survivors as they travelled the Camino de Santiago in Spain. There was learning, insight, guilt, anger, reflection, joy and prayer as the very personal stories of some of the participants were explored in a most empathic and compassionate way. 

If I had reservations it was around a tendency to secularise religious practices – the travellers were accompanied by an agnostic proponent of mindfulness, Dr Paul Dalton, who could at least see the value of religious experience. However, I did wonder if mindfulness was enhancing or replacing prayer.

 

Pick of the week

 

Everybody Loves Raymond

Channel 4, Monday, December 14, 8.30am
Debra’s hippy sister shows up unexpectedly and announces she has decided to become a nun.

 

Homeless at Christmas
TV 3, Tuesday, December 15, 9.00pm

This programme takes you to the frontline of the housing crisis. 

 

What in the World
RTĖ One, Tuesday, December 15, 11.15pm  
      
Not only are Latin America’s cities stretched way beyond their capacity but they are also the most unequal in the world.