No Roe v Wade

Last December, a Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights issued a landmark judgment on the sensitive topic of abortion. The case of A, B & C v Ireland (App No 25579/05) was argued on 9 December 2009, but the court spent over a year deliberating. Six out of 17 judges issued partly dissenting opinions. The majority decision is conservative: this is no Roe v Wade.

The applicants Ms A, B and C were Irish residents who had travelled to the UK for abortions. They complained that Irish law did not allow them to terminate their pregnancies lawfully in Ireland. Ms A had health and social issues: four children (one disabled), and problems with alcohol and depression. Ms B initially thought she was at risk of an ectopic pregnancy, though later it was confirmed that she did not have this condition. Ms C was Lithuanian, and in remission from a rare cancer. Before discovering she had become pregnant, she