D. v. Ireland (European Court of Human Rights)
In April 2005, the Center filed an amicus brief with the European Court of Human Rights in support of a woman, D., who alleged that Ireland’s prohibition of abortion constitutes a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Filing date: April 2005
Country/Region: Ireland
Plaintiff(s): D., a woman who was pregnant with twins, decided to terminate her pregnancy after learning that one fetus had died in the womb and the other had developed a fatal anomaly.
Center Attorney(s): Christina Zampas
Summary: The applicant in this case, who was pregnant with twins, decided to terminate her pregnancy after learning that one fetus had died in the womb and the other had developed a fatal anomaly. Because abortion is a crime in Ireland except in cases where pregnancy threatens the woman’s life, she was forced to travel to the United Kingdom to obtain a legal procedure. She argues that Ireland’s prohibition of abortion, specifically in cases of fetal impairment, as well as its restrictions on doctors’ ability to counsel their patients about abortion and provide full referrals for legal services abroad, violate the European Convention on Human Rights. We submitted an amicus brief to the court in April 2005 in support of the challenge. In June 2006, the court declared the case inadmissible due to the applicant’s failure to exhaust domestic remedies.