Master’s Thesis Graduate School of Communication Master’s programme: Political Communication Supervisor: Michael Hameleers UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAM
“Women in Ireland
continue to be fobbed off”
The Role of Irish Newsprint Media in the Debate
on Abortion
Wallis Grant, 11175605 30th June 20171 Abstract
The issue of abortion in Ireland is one which has become entwined in the defining of the country’s identity, relating to issues of moral and societal norms. The recent move towards reform on access to abortion, and the possibility of a people’s referendum, allows questions of how abortion should be discussed within the public sphere to arise. In particular how a topic so self-evidently gendered should be discussed. This study analyses recent Irish newspaper articles regarding abortion, using the discursive model as criteria for communication in the public sphere and adopting a feminist approach to measure if women’s experiences are substantially integrated into such coverage. Following a qualitative content analysis, results show that whilst the media coverage is attempting to achieve the discursive model in calls for civility and dialogue and a move towards a consensus, the lack of popular inclusion of women highlights the absence of a gendered understanding of the abortion issue and therefore, a lack of substantial representation of the narratives that are in the best interests for Irish women.
2 Introduction
The issue of abortion, and reproductive health in general, continues to be a topic which creates deep polarisation both politically and culturally (Feree, Gamson, Gerhards & Rucht, 2010). Between 2010-2014, it is estimated that 56 million induced abortions occurred worldwide and a recent study from the US found an overwhelming number of women participants expressed that having an abortion was the right choice for them (Guttmacher Institute, 2015; Rocca et. al, 2015). Despite the commonality and largely positive outcomes of the decision to have an abortion, it’s legality continues to be challenged by pro-life and conservative groups across the world, fuelled by negative representations of the choice to have an abortion in the public sphere (Purcell, Hilton & McDaid, 2014). Representation of abortion is extremely salient as it is one of the few areas of the law that is so politically contentious and yet altogether gendered (Iceton, 2016, p. 42). Any discourses surrounding abortion will disproportionately affect women, thus, it is important to judge any representations of abortion by a standard that emphasises the consequences narratives can hold on the everyday lives of women across the globe.
Against this backdrop, this paper seeks to analyse mainstream media’s discourse on abortion as a better way to understand its representation in the public sphere. Mass media remains the major forum for discussion in the public sphere and the framing of an issue by the media can have powerful consequences for the political and societal standing of an issue (Gamson & Modigliani, 1989; Feree, et. al, 2002). It is therefore important to discuss how the media uses its power, particularly at times when information is focal to an ongoing discussion or debate that affects citizen’s everyday lives. In order to judge which roles the media can play, normative criteria
3 developed for the public sphere can act as a framework to understand how a form of public communication can facilitate or hinder essential democratic decision-making processes (Feree, Gamson, Gerhards & Rucht, 2002, p. 289). These criteria focus on who participates, how content is styled, the quality of discourse and what kind of outcomes the narrative pushes for. In addition to this, it becomes key to utilise a feminist approach for the topic of abortion as making visible the hidden gender power hierarchies, which marginalise women’s experiences, are central to this topic.
The matter of abortion in Ireland stands as a salient case to analyse what function the media can play in shaping public opinion on the issue. Termination of a pregnancy, except in extreme cases, is still illegal in the country and abortion has become an issue which is entrenched within deep historical and religious divides (Bloomer & O’Dowd, 2014). Despite vast polarisation on this emotional issue, following the recommendations made by the Citizen’s Assembly in April, a referendum is most likely to occur in the next year. This intersection of such a publically invested topic, with the possibility of a people’s referendum, presents itself as a key case study to understand if the Irish media manages to facilitate a diverse and encompassing forum of the public sphere, as is needed during such citizen orientated decision making processes (Renwick & Lamb, 2013). For the purposes of this study, I will argue that the discursive model of public sphere offers itself as the most fitting criteria through which to judge the Irish media’s approach to the topic (Feree et. al, 2002). In addition to this, due to the gendered nature of the topic, I will argue that any discussions should aim for a quality of discourse that emphasises women’s stake holding on the issue. Celis and Childs (2012) ‘Descriptive vs Substantive’ representation model
4 will be utilised in order to argue that media must not simply represent abortion in the context of women, but to do so in a way that is substantially advancing Irish women’s interest on abortion.
Combining theories of the public sphere and a feminist approach as a means of making visible the gendered dynamics of the narratives, the research will analyse the print media through criteria of the discursive model of the public sphere. In doing so, media discourse will be evaluated on the extent to which it respects or contradicts the criteria given to stimulate a diverse and vigorous public communication sphere and if it does so in a cogent manner for Irish women, of which this issue holds such crucial standing. Consequently, this study will contribute to a broader understanding of how the Irish abortion case correlates with the often negative and controversial public sphere narrative of abortion globally.
Theory Abortion in Ireland
Abortion remains one of the most controversial issues worldwide, particularly in terms of the political dialogue surrounding its practice. Despite between 1950 and 1985 nearly all industrialised countries liberalising their abortion laws, and this trend continuing across the globe, there are some notable exceptions (Rahman, Katzive & Henshaw, 1998). The case of abortion in Ireland stands as a unique case in these anomalies. Ireland remains one of the most developed countries in the world to hold such a narrow and restrictive abortion law. The main legislation relating to abortion in Ireland was that of their former ruler, the UK’s 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, which specifically included ‘helping someone to procure an abortion’ as
5 an offence1 and this legislation was the main point of reference up until the 1980s (Coraccio,
2015). In 1983, in response to growing global trends in the widening access to abortion, Catholic and anti-abortion groups successfully campaigned for a pro-life amendment to the Constitution, which reads as follows;
The state acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to
defend and vindicate that right. (in Smyth, 1998, p. 65)
(Article 40.3.3)
Since its insertion, the equation of the woman’s life with that of the foetus has resulted in vast complications for both women seeking terminations and those who have complicated pregnancies, often resulting in extreme consequences (Taylor, 2015). The notion of ‘abortion tourism’ has become the norm through which some Irish women travel to the UK, (and other countries such as the Netherlands), resulting in 165,438 women receiving abortions in the UK between 1980 and 20152 (UK Department of Health Statistics, 2016). Several high profile legal
cases (the X Case, A, B and C vs Ireland and Mellet v. Ireland) have shed light on the lack of clarity and complicated restrictiveness of the abortion legislation, leading many to argue that the current law is causing harm to women’s integrity, dignity and ability to fully access their individual rights (Taylor, 2015, p. 93). A particularly tragic case found that the death of Savita Halappanavar in November 2012, who died from pregnancy related septicaemia, could have
1 Abortionrights.ie offer an indepth Prezi on the history of abortion in Ireland from the mid-1800s to
2016, https://www.abortionrightscampaign.ie/2015/06/16/a-brief-history-of-abortion-in-ireland/
2 According to the IFPA, this number is an under estimation as many women do not disclose their Irish
6 been avoided had she and her husband been granted the termination they asked for (BBC, 14th November, 2012). Her husband told news reporters that when asked if an abortion could take place, a consultant responded, ‘I’m sorry, unfortunately (this) is a Catholic country’ (BBC, 14th November, 2012). This comment provides an important gateway into understanding how abortion has become an issue through which to define the ‘moral, political and economic boundaries of the Irish nation’ (Martin, 2000, p. 66).
Construction of the Irish Identity
The 2016 Census placed Roman Catholicism as the dominant religion within the Republic of Ireland, with 78.3% of the population identifying as such (Census, 2016). The Catholic Church’s obvious pro-life stance allows there to be a strong assumption that a religious majority’s argument against the ‘killing of the unborn’ is enough to explain Ireland’s strict law. However, the correlation and strength of the bond between ‘Irishness’ and ‘Catholicism’ goes further than simply influencing attitudes; it is tied directly into the modern construction of the Irish identity. (Martin, 2000; Fletcher, 2001). The Catholic Church’s influence over Irish nationality dates back to the mid-19th century ‘Devolution Revolution’ where the church established hegemony over the state and these changes allowed the Church to have direct influence over the educational curriculum and the regulation of sexuality (Smyth, 1998; Martin, 2000, p. 67). Angela Martin (2000) argues that the influence of Catholic-nationalist identity formation was established into the construction of the first Constitution in 1937 and, in particular, the dominant understanding of masculinity and femininity in an independent Ireland (p. 67). The language used in the
7 constitution explicitly equates women with the home, legally limiting women to the domestic sphere and legitimising men’s power over this domain (Martin, 2000 p. 67 & 68).
The power of Catholicism in the Irish identity formation was also fuelled by the attempt to reject the ‘Protestant’ values of the former colonial power. Ruth Fletcher’s (2001) post-colonial analysis of Irish abortion law argues that the Irish state’s rejection of the European trend of liberalising abortion is rooted in the desire to protect ‘Irishness’ from infiltration by the Protestant ‘pro-choice’ values of the former colonial power and this is present in the anti-abortion efforts (p. 569 & 573). She provides evidence of a pro-life amendment campaign from 1983 that stated; ‘The Abortion Mills of England Grind Irish Babies into Blood that Cries out to Heaven for Vengeance’ (Fletcher, 2001, p. 577). This imagery has continued in more recent years, following Ireland’s entry into the European Economic Community, where an insecurity over Europe’s influence has refuelled notions of state boundary definition. The rejection of the ratification of the Maastricht treaty in 1992 was a double-edged knife where protestors were rejecting Europe’s influence over Ireland combined with rejecting a push for abortion from other European nations and individuals viewed these issues as correlating with one another (Martin, 2000, p. 65). Abortion in Ireland is therefore not a standalone issue; the norm of moral conservatism in politics has allowed abortion to become a symbol of rebellion against a strong Irish-Catholic identity and, therefore, a threat to it.
8 If the construction of Irish national identity places that which is not Catholic as the ‘antithetical to Irish culture’ (Fletcher, 2001), how does this shape the Irish woman’s experience of being a citizen of the state? Control of women’s fertility has become symbolically and materially salient to nationalist narratives in the region, therefore placing the ‘life of the unborn’ as a national interest whose protection propagates the exclusion of women’s rights (Fletcher, 2001, p. 572 & 579). The 1983 Amendment solidified the notion that the biological existence of a foetus allows the individual rights of the woman to freedom of expression and bodily autonomy to be subordinated (Taylor, 2015). This has been exemplified by the Irish state’s response to several cases including the high profile, the X Case, which saw a fourteen year old rape victim being denied the right to travel to the UK for an abortion. The public outcry over the intervention of the state in the family’s choice eventually allowed the girl to obtain an abortion and consequently, shifted the narrative on abortion from one of morality to a discussion on the fundamental status of women’s citizenship (Smyth, 1998). This narrative shift created momentum for change, resulting in the 13th and 14th Amendment that legally acknowledged women’s right to travel for abortions and for professionals to provide information on abortion in other countries. Whilst this creates better access, Fiona Bloomer and Kellie O’Dowd (2014) argue that this demonstrates ‘the state’s attitude of acknowledging the need for abortion and the right to travel, but not within its jurisdiction’ (p. 369).
Therefore, it can be argued that women in Ireland continue to experience ‘secondary citizenship’ (Smyth, 19989; Fletcher, 2001; Bloomer & O’Dowd, 2014). The construction of abortion as an issue that affects all of the Irish body fails to acknowledge the level of discrimination it poses by excluding women’s rights (Fletcher, 2001, p. 579). This discrimination is also further heightened
9 for different groups of women, for example women from a lower economic standing, which often tends to include immigrants or refugees, as the choice to travel for an abortion is an expensive one (between €400 to €1800, IFPA, 2017). Despite deep polarisation on the issue, there are a vast majority of the public who wish to see change on the issue, as demonstrated by recent opinion polls that showed 67% of voters wished to repeal the 8th as they agreed with abortion in some circumstances (Ipsos, July 8th, 2016). This gulf between the state’s failure to legislate and the citizen’s wish for change places media discourse in the middle of these two conflicting narratives.
Abortion and Media Discourse
How abortion in Ireland is represented in the mass media is therefore extremely salient, and the relationship between abortion and media discourse is a topic which has been explored in other cases. One of the main findings is that despite of widening access to abortion worldwide, abortion continues to be presented as inherently controversial, especially in the mainstream media (Purcell et. al, 2014; p. 1144). A recent qualitative study on print media in Great Britain found that despite abortion being the most performed gynaecological procedure in the region, the media coverage examined presented it as ‘unquestionably and perpetually controversial’ (Purcell et. al, 2014; p. 1145). Framing abortion as contentious is a result of the issue heavily intersecting with concepts of ethics, religion, law and politics (Pruitt & Mullen, 2005), and is, above all, a polarising debate; one is either pro-choice or pro-life. This dichotomy reveals a stark contrast, which in turn creates a good news story, and so does the emphasis of risk and controversy which is often seen in narratives surrounding abortion, clearly siding with those of the pro-life camp
10 (Purcell et. al, 2014; Feltham-King & Macleod, 2015). As a result of this need to emphasise the inherent controversy of abortion, media discourse tends to focus on the negative aspects of abortion and there is either no or little positive perspectives representing abortion as a legitimate choice (Purcell et. al, 2014, p. 1144).
These narratives on abortion do not exist in a vacuum. As mentioned previously, mass media remains a vital arena for informing and shaping public opinion and this is particularly true of reproductive health matters, where it is frequently cited as the main source of information regarding the matter3. However, there are also other major sources of narratives on abortion that exist within the public sphere. Take for example in the US, the language used in legislative processes on abortion can be seen to sway towards the pro-life stance and this is often due to the definition of personhood presented by the anti-choice side. Jean Heriot’s (1996) in depth analysis of Mississippi state legislature finds that by defining the foetus as a person, whose rights are equal to that of the mother’s, this allows the legislate to enforce a particular view of personhood and morality (p. 176 & 179). The issue of definition of personhood is one that resonates in many countries and bears difficulties for the pro-choice campaign whose parameters for defining ‘when a foetus becomes a person’ are less rigid due to the influences of medical and scientific resources (Heriot, 1996; p. 184). In allowing the pro-life side to claim a moral stance within the current legislation, this also spills over into media discourse to create a complex web of interaction where both are influenced by and an influencer of, the other (Gamson & Modigliani,
3 Sandi Pruitt and Patricia Dolan Mullen (2005) note that in four out of five population-based studies in
one review, mass media were the most frequently cited sources of information about EC. (Ellerston et. al, 2000 in Pruitt & Mullen, 2005, p. 15).
11 1989). The controversy and negativity attached to abortion allows stigmatisation to go hand in hand with having an abortion (Cockrill, Upadhyay, Turan & Greene-Foster, 2013). For the individual who has an abortion, stigma can have many effects, including the endangering of one’s mental health, relationships, social status and possibly affect physical health (Cockrill et. al, 2013, p. 987).
In addition to this, and above all, abortion is an inherently gendered subject. Pregnancy is a uniquely female experience and the rights to control the reproductive system are interlinked with notions of a woman’s bodily and citizenry rights being questioned in the very discussion. (Feree et. al, 2002; Iceton, 2016). Therefore, any discourses created surrounding abortion reflect upon the media’s conceptualisation of cultural gender norms and, in particular, what it means to be a ‘woman’ (Reinharz, 1992, p. 152; Deegan, 1983, p. 182). Joanne Timpson (1996) argues that the major tenet of media ideology is to present the woman as nurturer and this has become the ‘standard appropriate behaviour’ promulgated by the mainstream media (p. 779). Any attempts to reject this, i.e. through abortion, are seen to jar with the very essence of womanhood and the ‘inevitability of motherhood’ (Kumar, Hessini, & Mitchell, 2009, p. 625). By correlating womanhood with motherhood, mainstream media restrict the agency of women as individual actors and condemn those who choose not to be mothers by shrouding them in stigma and shame, which has been shown to become a dominant narrative when it comes to experiencing abortion (Purcell et. al, 2014). This marginalisation is also within the context of mass media being a masculine dominated public sphere (Rakow & Kranich, 1991) which perpetuates these narratives that limit the opportunities, experiences and autonomy of women in everyday life (Deegan, 1983, p. 1). If the forum through which abortion is to be discussed is masculine, it
12 becomes even more critical to examine if the media perpetuates gendered hierarchies in its coverage of such a female experienced topic.
Normative Role of Media in Ireland on Abortion Debate
How can one, therefore, examine the normative role of media discourse on abortion, in the context of Ireland? There exist a multitude of frameworks and models that can act as criteria to judge the quality of public communication. Max Feree and colleagues (2002) offer a review of four prominent theories of democracy and their implications for the public sphere. For the purposes of this study, I will focus on the discursive model and its criteria as it is the tradition that promotes a realistic but extensive conceptual framework for deliberative democracy. This choice is due to much of the debate in Ireland being centred around whether a referendum should occur and scholars have highlighted that in times of referendum, the media should be concerned with aiding this form of deliberative democracy as much as possible (Renwick & Lamb, 2013). In light of this, criteria of who should speak, what is said and how, and the agency of discourse on outcomes, will be based on the importance of popular inclusion, civility and mutual respect and a clear direction for an outcome of on the issue, as necessary attributes for the public sphere (Feree et. al, 2002, p. 290).
13 Table 1: Discursive model of public sphere criteria (based on Feree et. al, 2002, p. 316).
Theory Criteria for good democratic public discourse
Who participates In what sort of
process
How ideas should
be presented
Outcome of
relation between discourse and decision-making
Discursive Model Popular inclusion Deliberative Dialogue Mutual Respect
Civility
Consensus based closure
In addition to this, due to the gendered nature of the issue, a feminist approach will be adopted to analyse the media discourse. At its core, a feminist perspective involves a pro-active commitment to a feminist exploration of women’s experience of oppression (Harding, 1987 in Timpson, 1996, p. 777). This differs from other critical theory approaches, for example with the Erwing Goffman school of thought, as gender is often hidden underneath within systems and a feminist approach is concerned with revealing and ultimately eliminating the forces that limit women (Deegan, 1983, p. 182). When this feminist approach is applied to media discourse, feminist researchers attempt to identify ‘patterns within texts to highlight how power is gendered, classed, raced, among other socially constructed categories’ (Iceton, 2016, p. 45). Understanding how abortion is framed thus propagates a feminist approach as any consequences of its discussion are gendered, mostly affecting the bodily autonomy and reproductive health of women.
14 For the purposes of this study, I will combine the criteria used in the discursive model of the public sphere and the feminist approach of deconstructing this discourse to understand the gendered dynamics. This will become particularly important for the notion of popular inclusion, which I wish to combine with the analysis of ‘descriptive versus substantive representation’ (Celis & Childs, 2012). The popular inclusion criteria argue that media should actively seek to include experiences of those on the periphery, for example, grassroots organisations or women who have experienced abortion themselves (Feree et. al, 2002). However, it is not enough to simply include them. Celis and Childs (2012) argue that there is a very evident distinction between descriptive and substantive representations when it comes to women. The authors argue that it is not enough to judge representation by the number of women present and/or speaking (descriptive) but how actors attempt to function in the best interests of women (substantive) (Celis & Childs, 2012; Feltham-King & Macleod, 2015). Whilst the original framework was in response to the political representation of women, this study will utilise notions of descriptive versus substantive for media coverage of the issue, which was previously utilised for a study on South African newspaper coverage of abortion during the democratic transition (Feltham-King & Macleod, 2015). Following this line of analysis, I will focus on firstly if media include grassroots organisations and women who have experience with abortion as a form of ‘popular inclusion’ and then, if stories are relied in their own words, as criteria for judging the quality of substantive representation in the Irish media. The combination of both these approaches allows this study to judge the media by criteria that prioritises both the enhancement of discourse in the public sphere of democracy and the quality of women’s representation in this discourse.
15 Therefore, this study will attempt to analyse what role the Irish newsprint media plays in the debate on abortion by analysing key themes on (a) content and style of speech (what is being said and how), (b) the dialogue on decision making (outcomes proposed) and (c) popular inclusion which is substantive to ensure that discourse is in the best interest of women.
Methodology
Sample Selection
For the purposes of this study, I selected three Irish newspapers to include in my research; the Irish Times (broadsheet), the Irish Independent (tabloid) and the Irish Examiner (tabloid). These three newspapers were selected to represent a variety of the print media in Ireland and to include media with high readership figures (Joint National Readership Survey, 2014/2015). Any newspapers from Northern Ireland were not included in the sample due to the differences in the abortion debate in that region, namely the vastly different political and legal landscape.
Data Collection
The database LexisNexis was used to identify the articles, using the key terms “abortion OR pro-life OR pro-choice OR 'anti-abortion' OR 'repeal the 8th' OR ‘Eighth Amendment’”. Although other studies opted for more broad search terms including ‘sexual health’ or ‘termination’ (Purcell, et al., 2010), due to the highly political nature of the topic, these key terms are always tied to articles concerning women’s reproductive health in Ireland. A time frame was placed
16 upon the sample, which ranged from the 24th of April 2016 to the 24th of April 2017. The debate on abortion in Ireland is emerging and changing everyday so to include as an immediate sample as possible, allows the most current media climate to be assessed. All articles were then read through to ensure that, (a) the main focus of the article was on aspects of the abortion debate or representative campaigns, (b) the context was Ireland specific, and, (c) any letters from readers were excluded from the sample. The last criteria is important as it is the media’s discourse this study is specifically concerned with. Although analysing at what kind of reader’s opinions were included in each newspaper would be extremely interesting, it is not within the scope of this research.
Analysis
The initial sample from the time frame and newspapers selected gave 379 articles. These were further reduced by randomly sampling 20 articles from each newspaper outlet. Coding was conducted through a thematic approach based on the main research question and specifically regarding the function of media in the public sphere, with the criteria of the discursive model in mind. With this in mind a ‘constant comparative approach’ (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) was utilised so that categories reflect the data and to allow as many categories to emerge as needed as a product of a thorough and exhaustive research (Zhang & WiIdemuth, 2009). Post initial analysis, prominent themes emerged in relation to the content, style and attempt at inclusion in the articles and this was particularly evident in the opinion pieces. In order to allow for a saturation of themes, I collected 5 additional opinions pieces from each outlet as these were the most relevant in guiding the research. In addition to this, further coding regarding popular inclusion, such as if
17 actors spoke in their own words or if they were paraphrased, was analysed. The final sample of 75 articles are the basis of the qualitative content analysis.
Results
Content & Style of Speech: Civility and Mutual Respect
The content and style of speech from the newspapers on abortion simultaneously respect and contradict the discursive model notions of civility and mutual respect. In the model, mutual respect is not only defined as simply tolerance but a willingness to constructively interact with the opposing side (Feree et. al, 2002, p. 302).
Calls for civility. Throughout all outlets, there is a strong call for civil interactions between pro-choice and pro-life groups; “We need to talk. Not shout, claim the high ground for our views, or seek to monsterize those with a different perspective.” (The Irish Independent, May 14th, 2016). This call for civility also goes hand in hand with the emphasis from outlets that the debate on abortion is not as black and white as it may initially appear. The notion of a ‘nuanced view of abortion’ (The Irish Independent, May 14th, 2016) is a theme through which the outlets attempt to create a middle ground on the issue and they claim this capture’s the public opinion on the issue. For example, on analysing public opinion polls in September 2016, the Irish Times noted; “Another way of saying this is that while Irish people may be in favour of more access to abortion...it is by no means clear how much more access they want. They are probably not sure of that themselves.” (September 23rd, 2016), and The Irish Examiner; “Of course this is not
18 black and white, but we’ve seen enough opinion poll results now to realise that there is a groundswell of support for a liberalising of the laws on abortion.” (June 16th, 2016).
In attempting to bring the debate back from a polarisation, it would appear the Irish media in this sample are going against the trends in other countries and this is tied with the longevity of the issue in Ireland. The issue of the debate being long winded and rooted in history is brought up time and time again, with descriptions such as ‘long running saga’, ‘decades of discussion’ and ‘the topic which has divided Irish society for so long’ (The Irish Examiner, December 2nd, 2016). One Independent article even went so far as to make this comparison, “The abortion issue is a boil that has been festering on Irish life for decades and now is the time for it to be finally lanced - one way or the other”. (The Irish Independent, October 19th, 2016).
Sensationalism. Whilst the articles stress civility and a mutual respect needed between camps on opposing sides, their commitment to the same values are not present. The quality of language used to describe the emerging debate lends itself to sensationalism and a belittling or patronising description of both sides. War or battle imagery was present in several headlines, including, “Why Catholic Church is not for turning in the last of the Holy Wars; MICHAEL KELLY on how the battle lines are being drawn in Maynooth (The Irish Independent, July 9th 2016) and “Ireland's abortion wars are set to rage again” (The Irish Times, September 24th, 2016). This comparison of the abortion debate to a battle is a sensationalist tactic to create a heightened sense of drama, thus contradicting the above message for a more civilised, nuanced debate.
19 In addition to this, language used to describe both pro-choice and pro-life groups and activists often appears condescending to the cause. ‘Hysteria’ was used multiple times by outlets to describe the communicating of both campaigns and the notion that both sides were attempting to place their own ‘tyranny’ over the other. Furthermore, some journalists even went as far as to make humorous analogies of the debate. The Irish Independent compared the two sides to two intoxicated people (‘It’s like watching two drunks arguing at a house party”), whereas the The Irish Times found it appropriate to create a tongue-in-cheek article regarding the opinion of a long standing anti-abortion campaigner, Rónán Mullen, comparing women travelling to get abortions like women wanting chocolate; “In these extraordinary circumstances, forcing Irish women to travel abroad to access their chocolate sounds like a fair and sensible idea.” (The Irish Times, April 15th, 2017). In reducing the issue of abortion to a joke, it appears the media is glossing over the seriousness of the issue, placing catchy analogies above the important experiences of those who deal with the complex abortion legislation.
Dominant Outcomes Discussed
This discursive democratic tradition also places a strong emphasis on a gradual consensus over time with all opposing parties involved (Feree et. al, 2002, p. 305). The gradual consensus in this case is that there is a need for a people’s vote on the decision. With nearly every mention of a referendum, there is an almost unanimous agreement that a referendum will, and should, take place; ‘a referendum is a must’ (The Independent, June 11th, 2016), ‘another abortion referendum is surely on the way’ (The Irish Times, October 7th, 2016). A referendum being found to be the dominant outcomes of the debates is in part by a gradual consensus over the
20 mishandling of the issue by the Irish government. However, the road to which a referendum should be agreed, i.e. the decision to appointment a Citizen’s Assembly to make recommendations, is both praised and condemned by the media present.
Criticism of the government. All news outlets were extremely critical in their discourse towards the Irish government. The analogy they had ‘made a pigs dinner’ out of it was used more than once and in particular, the notion that the government had been using stalling tactics over the issue were prominently criticised;
The Health Minister tells us he is moved by the pain of those affected by the ban. And still we are left waiting. The Justice Minister tells us the UN finding is both stark and serious. And still
we are left waiting (The Irish Independent, June 16th, 2016).
But once again this discussion on reproductive rights begs the question as to why our legislators saw fit to kick this issue into touch, seeking a mandate from anyone but themselves, instead of
taking in hand an aspect of constitutional change the Irish people clearly want leadership on. (The Irish Times, April 24th, 2017).
These criticisms were made by both authors who stated themselves as pro-choice or pro-life, showing that regardless of which side one is on, the government’s actions are not seen as appropriate. In particular, the government choosing to commission a Citizen’s Assembly - a body formed by the state to deliberate issues that are of national interest - received media criticism for choosing the ‘easy way out’. One headline read “Citizen’s Assembly a cop-out in
21 search for solution to bitter abortion debate” (The Irish Independent, October 19th, 2016), whilst other’s mocked the difficult choice of the government by noting, “Our tough, visionary leaders have decided that the situation is so dire that we need a….Citizen’s Assembly.” (The Irish Independent, October 19th, 2016). Some were more practical in directing the anger towards wanting a firm commitment from the government that the Citizen’s Assembly was the last straw;
The politicians have had their time (decades of it) and they’ve had their day. Sure, let them appear before the assembly and outline party and individual positions...But after that, whatever
recommendation is made by the assembly on Repealing the 8th...should be automatically dealt with by our legislators, minus any attempts by them to tinker with it or alter it, to suit their own
electoral purposes. (The Irish Examiner, June 17th, 2016).
Respect versus reproval over Citizen’s Assembly. Whilst newspapers were unanimous in their criticism of the government’s delays on abortion, there was more of a mixed response to the formatting and decision making processes of the Citizen’s Assembly. Many outlets commented on the professionalism of those involved, stating “Inside, there was a serious, calm, well-organised, working person-like atmosphere” (The Irish Examiner, Dec 2nd 2016) and praise was given to the time taken by the 99 individuals chosen to be part of the assembly, those ‘who have devoted so much of their energies, on our behalf, to the mind bending ramifications of the 8th Amendment’ (The Irish Examiner, April 7th, 2017). Furthermore, there was an understanding that abortion was not an easy issue to tackle; “What a job the citizen members had...They are credit to this ongoing, crucial debate” (The Irish Times, April 24th 2017). Of those who praised the process and execution of the Assembly, many were also happy to listen to
22 and accept the proposals concluded from the deliberations, stating “On the basis of how the Assembly has been run thus far, and guided by the secretariat, I would be very surprised, if the eventual proposals weren’t sound” (The Irish Examiner, April 7th 2017) and “The next few weekends are bound to be more contentious but, if last weekend is anything to go by, what is being said there is well worth listening to.” (The Irish Examiner, December 2nd 2016).
However, there were a number of criticisms regarding the process through which members were selected and whether or not this led to a bias in the recommendations made. The concern that the Assembly had a pro-choice bias was made several times, citing the lack of ‘openness and transparency...on how facilitators were selected’ (The Irish Independent, April 20th, 2017), and that there was ‘undue influence from those who manage the process and provide input to the members’ deliberations’ (The Independent, April 20th 2017). Issues surrounding the appointment of Mary Laffoy as the presiding judge raised concerns; “Before the first meeting had even concluded, there were allegations of bias from the life side, which claims there was a pro-choice campaigner included in the assembly” (The Independent, October 19th 2016).
And one Independent article quoted a critique of the Constitutional Convention that noted a Citizen’s Assembly could allow “special access for certain groups by the back door” (The Independent, October 15th 2016).
Rejecting British standards. In addition to a consensus on criticism of the government, there was a strong rejection of what was frequently coined as the ‘on-demand abortion reality’ of Britain. Over all outlets, there was a need to juxtapose Ireland’s view on abortion with that of the
23 UK’s, by condemning the laxity of the laws around abortion. In one Times article, an anti-abortion campaigner is quoted saying; "There is no desire for a UK-style anti-abortion regime in Ireland," she says. "Even people who see abortion as a necessity in some cases see it as a bad thing.” (The Irish Times, September 24th, 2016). However the same article goes on to argue that looking at the polls over time, it is fair to say there is widespread liberalisation but ‘not for the establishment of a UK-style regime’. In a separate article, the UK’s abortion rate is preceded by a statement declaring that the Irish law as it stands has actually prevented suffering, “In the UK, one in five pregnancies ends in abortion. There is no question the Eighth Amendment has saved tens of thousands of lives...”(The Irish Independent, October 8th 2016). In only one article, could I find a rebuttal against this idea of ‘abortion on demand’ in Britain, which came in an Examiner piece through the words of Abortion Rights Campaign spokesperson, Linda Kavanagh, (Discussing wording over polling on the abortion issue), “The poll questions seems to imply that women in the UK have access to abortion in any circumstances. This is not the case. “(The Irish Examiner, October 8th, 2016).
Lack of Credible Popular Inclusion
The table below shows that there is a considerable lack of popular inclusion of those on the periphery of the issues, whether it is in their own words or paraphrased. This is also further emphasised when one considers that the inclusion of political elite voices, in their own words, accounted for 48% of the whole sample.
24 Table 2: Number of articles that include pro-choice, pro-life groups or women’s dialogue either directly quoted from own words or paraphrased.
Pro-choice Pro-life Women
Own words Paraphrased Own words Paraphrased Own words Paraphrased Irish Examiner 1 3 3 3 2 0 Irish Independent 9 2 7 2 0 2 Irish Times 9 5 6 3 1 0
What is so very evidently lacking is the inclusion of ordinary women’s voices who have had abortions or have experienced issues with the legislation surrounding the 8th Amendment. There were, of course, some narratives which included women speaking personally about experiences of abortion. There was a Times article detailing a woman’s illegal abortion in London in 1960, with the woman herself, Ann Ingle, arguing for an abortion law that is ‘kind’ and acknowledges that ‘for every single woman...there is a different story’ (The Irish Times, April 24th 2017). And an Examiner article detailed TD Kate O’Connell’s personal dilemma of possibly having to travel to the UK for an abortion, following a 20 week scan of her child which showed foetal abnormalities. However, both of these examples are either outdated or extreme circumstances that do not represent the normal experience of women in Ireland when it comes to abortion. In only one article was there a discussion of women having abortions as a choice made by themselves and doing so in a positive light;
25 Tara, who is made up of kindness.. Roisin, who is brave and sensitive. Susan, whose optimism
and faith in others never ceases to amaze me….
These are bone-deep decent women, some of the best people I know in fact….They are human beings who made a decision that was best for them, their bodies, their lives. (The Irish Examiner,
July 23rd, 2016).
Absence of the gender discussion. In addition to there being an absence of popular inclusion, there is a lack of substantial discourse on what would be in the interest of women’s needs, as prescribed by the substantive representation criteria (Celis & Childs, 2012). Indeed, there is a lack of recognition by the media that this is a gendered issue, affecting one gender more prominently than the other. In discussing the choice to have an abortion, most reasons are left out and if they are discussed, it is noted as a ‘personal choice’ rather than a ‘woman’s choice’. The last Examiner article cited above was the most progressive and substantial in arguing the gendered aspect of the issue;
It’s time for Ireland to grow up and stop pretending that Irish women don’t have abortions….I am pro-choice because I trust that those women made the decision that was right for them and I
don’t believe they should be treated with contempt as a result. Do you? (The Irish Examiner, July 23rd 2016).
The article goes even further by using outright sarcasm to highlight the extent to which gender imbalance comes into play for the consequences of a restrictive abortion law; “(Not the men, no,
26 we won’t ever blame the men. It is the women who should be good...it is the women who should be left literally holding the baby)” (The Irish Examiner, July 23rd 2016). Next to that was an Independent article with the headline ‘Women in Ireland continue to be fobbed off’ where the journalist position herself as one of the many women waiting; ‘WOMEN are waiting. We are being fobbed off’, and goes on to argue that instead of treating these women as Ireland’s ‘dirty secrets’, there should be ‘suitable arrangements provided by the State’ (The Independent, June 11th 2016). A further Independent article cited that there may be a number of reasons a woman would want to end a pregnancy and that ‘every reason is valid’, the choice being hers and not yours to make (The Irish Independent, September 27th 2016). However, a focus on the implications the restrictive abortion legislation has on Irish women’s rights as individuals was severely lacking.
The opposite, in fact, was present. There was an attempt to reject notions of this gender imbalance and to counter cries of ‘women’s rights’ with ‘human rights for the unborn’, for example, “It is entirely proper for religious believers, and others, to defend the Eighth Amendment as a constitutional safeguard for the most vulnerable which places Ireland ahead of most other nations in terms of progressive human-rights legislation “(The Irish Times, March 28th 2016) and “Do we, as a nation, believe in the most fundamental human right, the right to life?” (The Independent, October 15th, 2016). These arguments were made despite the highest ranking body for human rights legislation, the United Nations, stating that in 2016 that the current Irish abortion legislation violated women’s rights and called on the Irish government to amend its laws immediately (Time, June 9th, 2016).
27 Discussion
This qualitative content analysis has attempted to analyse the role of the Irish media in the current abortion debate. In employing the discursive model of the public sphere as the framework through which the Irish media should be operating, articles were analysed in order to better understand if the discourse met the criteria needed for such an urgent and divisive debate on abortion in Ireland.
The analysis found vast contradictions on how the media operates within the public sphere on abortion. In many regards, the approach on abortion is quite progressive as it breaks with previous analyses that found media coverage contributed to abortion stigmatisation through prevalent negative discourse (Purcell et. al, 2014). The calls for respect and a move away from polarisation of the two camps point to the media working to create a space for dialogue and mutual respect between the two opposing sides and this narrative came from both openly pro-choice and pro-life journalists. However, style and discourse used by the media perpetuates polarisation through sensationalist language, such as the ‘battle’ or ‘war’ imagery. Whilst this sensationalism may simply be a journalistic tactic to attract readers through drama, the practice stands contradictory to the media’s calls for a ‘middle’ ground on the issue. In addition to this, the fact that some media outlets find it appropriate to make belittling analogies on the experience of abortion, for example to two drunks arguing or women wanting chocolate, correlates with the notion that media is a masculine dominated sphere (Rakow & Kranich, 1996). The experience of having and accessing abortion holds serious ramifications for the health and well-being of
28 women and in accepting condescending analogies of this situation, the Irish media is sustaining patriarchal notions of defining women’s health issues as less culturally significant (Iceton, 2016).
There is a clear consensus on working towards the same outcome, a vote by the people, and this was made regardless of the media or individual journalist’s position on abortion. There was also widespread criticism, I would even go as far to say as attacking, on the government’s lack of response. In the clear calls for a referendum, the media is attempting to shift abortion away from an elite model of decision making and to bring power back to the citizens (Feree et. al, 2002). This push for accountability from the media to the Irish government breaks with previous understandings that the media can fall into a circle of mimicking a government’s position on the issue, which as noted previously, can often be bias towards the pro-life side (Heriot, 1996). In addition to this, there is also a clear rejection of the ‘British style’ availability of abortion, however, there appears some confusion over what how British abortion procedure works. Some outlets did not give a definition but many referred to the ‘on-demand’ reality of abortion in Britain. This is not the reality. In Northern Ireland, abortion is still illegal, with prosecution still in place if an individual is found to have or aided someone to have one. For the rest of the UK complicated laws regarding whom has to sign off an abortion and how it has to be done compromises the level of care for the woman and there is a threat of prosecution that could simply be dependent on bureaucratic formatting4. Regardless of the facts, the news media continued to juxtapose the British ‘negative’ abortion laws with the ‘purer’ style that would replace the 8th, even though the legislation may be very similar, depending on the outcome of a
referendum. The need to reject their post-colonial ruler laws on abortion emphasises that Irish
4 A recent campaign in the UK, ‘We Trust Women’, is attempting to have amendments made on the 1861
29 abortion has become entangled with issues that are at the essence of Irish identity. In the need to protect the pure ‘Catholic’ Irish way of living from infiltration by the ‘Protestant’ pro-choice values of their former rulers, (Fletcher, 2001, p. 569), the media obfuscates the changes that could be made to the Irish abortion legislation.
Finally, and most prevalent for this study, was the lack of popular inclusion of women’s experiences and content that prioritised women’s interests. Although there was some representation of the interest groups on both sides, the absence of women’s voices telling their own experiences meant that there was a lack of representation of the experiences that actually surround the illegality of abortion in Ireland. It is important to note that abortion is a very sensitive subject and this may be a factor in the lack of inclusion of women themselves telling their stories on such a national platform. However, recent grassroots media projects such as the ‘Repeal Project’ and the ‘Abortion Diary’ podcast are attempting to shed the stigma surrounding having an abortion by having women share their experiences on social media platforms and there is a vast number of individuals who are supporting and contributing to such causes. One can also look at the huge number of submissions made to the Citizen’s Assembly in December following a call on the issue of the Amendment, therefore highlighting that the absence of their voices is not from a lack of willingness to have these stories told.
With the scarcity of women’s stories being told in their own words, there is an absence of substantial representation of women’s interests on abortion (Celis & Childs 2012). The articles in this sample displayed a deficit of discourse on women’s rights to bodily autonomy. In fact, there is vaster discussion by some pro-life narratives on placing the unborn foetus’ rights above that of
30 the woman’s, a hierarchy that does not exist within any other bodies of international rights. With the almost non-existent inclusion of abortion stories that are not rooted in highly unusual circumstances, it would appear that including an abortion story based simply on a woman’s individual choice, i.e. the most common circumstances under which abortion occurs, is not within the scope of the Irish media. In not including or prioritising these narratives, the media appears to be glossing over the gendered experience of abortion and to be marginalising the active voice of women so badly needed for this topic. By not creating space for these ‘normal’ experiences of abortion by Irish women, the media is allowing the highly gendered nature of abortion to become hidden within the most major forum for communication in the public sphere (McBride & Stetson, 2001). If there is an unwillingness by the mainstream media to place a woman’s choice as the most prevalent reason for widening abortion access, this feeds into the indirect stigmatisation of abortion, which continues to deny the agency of women to decide on reproductive matters. To make these experiences invisible is to deny the public a holistic understanding of the Irish abortion experience and these are pivotal narratives needed in the public sphere during a referendum that could shape an Irish woman’s reproductive experience.
Practical Implications and Future Research
It would appear the media in this sample fails to create a framework for discourse on abortion that the current debate on abortion in Ireland needs. Whilst some progress is made in the content calling for a consensus on action to be taken, the media often fails to incorporate many of their recommendations into their own structure. Time constraints on the sample mean that a more longitudinal study may have been able to identify how themes have evolved and emerged, as the
31 Repeal movement gained momentum, and if news media discourse transformed as a result. In addition to this, an understanding if biased coverage appears in newsprint and if this has transformed or sustained over time would help to hold a more in depth understanding of each newspaper outlet and thus the consequences for the demographic of readers.
What this study has been key in highlighting is that the Irish media, at this present time, is failing to provide an appropriate platform for women and thus limiting the agency of women’s experiences that are so crucial to this debate. The Irish media’s inability to fully understand and importantly emphasise the gendered impact discussions on abortion legalising have for women, says a whole lot about the nature of women’s experiences in this democracy and how far the Irish public sphere still has to go in its obligations to Irish women as citizens. However, the recent confirmation of a referendum next year on the 8th Amendment offers the press a chance to engage more diversely and constructively with women, in order to offer the public a comprehensive picture on this momentous vote.
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