September 4, 2000


Features

Never Mind the Bollocks
BY BILL BOISVERT

Here's the new Republican Party

The Battle of Philadelphia
BY DAVE LINDORFF

Working It
BY DAVID MOBERG
Will unions go all out for Gore?

Black Radicals Regroup
BY SALIM MUWAKKIL
Detroit hosts the Black Radical Congress.

Mad Sheep Scare
BY TERRY J. ALLEN
Farmers, scientists and the USDA square off in Vermont.


News

Cleaning Up
BY HANS JOHNSON
Missouri, Oregon consider campaign finance initiatives.

Star Strike
BY BEN WINTERS
Actors demand a better deal.

Renegade or Redeemer?
BY STEVE ELLNER

Hugo Chavez leads Venezuela into a new era.

The New Front
BY KARI LYDERSEN

American anti-abortion groups crusade in Ireland.

Profile
BY TED KLEINE

Johnny Lira is in their corner.


Views

Editorial
BY DAVID MOBERG
Big money problems.

Appall-O-Meter
BY DAVID FUTRELLE

A Terry Laban Cartoon

Dialogue: The Balkans
More Conspiracy Theories?
BY EDWARD S. HERMAN

A Humanitarian Crusade
BY DIANA JOHNSTONE


Culture

A Man for All Seasons
BY HOWARD ZINN
Francis Wheen's Marx: A Life.

Interstate Rambler
BY PHILIP CONNORS
On the road with Larry McMurty.

England's Dreaming
BY JOHN GHAZVINIAN
History falls off the back of a lorry.

Under the Influence
BY JASON SHOLL
Sadie Plant writes on drugs.

Vanishing Act
BY
JOSHUA ROTHKOPF
Paul Verhoeven's Hollow Man.

Presidential Dance Parties
BY GREG SMITHSIMON

 

The New Front
By Kari Lydersen

In the eyes of militant anti-choice leaders, Ireland is the final frontier. The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland are the only countries in Europe where abortion is still prohibited by law, except in cases of extreme danger to the mother. Now, just as pro-choice advocates are making headway there, American pro-life groups are flocking to the Emerald Isle to protect the last place where "baby-killing is still illegal."

The Irish government is currently reviewing a study that addresses some of the medical, social and legal issues surrounding abortion. Irish pro-choice advocates predict that the document may lead to more abortion rights for women. Though concrete changes could be years away, the fact that the government is publicly examining the issue at all is a good sign, say pro-choice advocates. For the time being, they want to protect the right to receive "nondirective" counseling about the availability of abortions in England. About 5,000 Irish women pursue this option each year despite the considerable expense - as much as $850 plus travel costs.

The pro-choice movement has been steadily gaining strength over the past decade. In 1992 Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) director Tony O'Brien and other reproductive rights advocates formed the Alliance for Choice, which introduced "nondirective" reproductive counseling to the country. The Irish Supreme Court also made relatively abortion-friendly rulings in two highly publicized court cases in 1992 and 1995; public debate surrounding the rulings revealed increasing support for reproductive choice, O'Brien says.

 

 


In These Times © 2000
Vol. 24, No. 20