Sign the petition to decriminalise abortion in Ireland
When comedy writer Graham Linehan and his wife Helen got pregnant, they were thrilled. Soon, however, they were told that the foetus Helen was carrying would not survive. They were booked in to have a termination just days later.
"It was very traumatic, sitting in a waiting room with heavily pregnant women, knowing that this little flutter in my tummy was not doing to survive."
Helen Linehan
It was not a decision they took lightly, but it would lessen the suffering for both the foetus and Helen.
"All we wanted to do was get over that hurdle of what had happened to us and try again, move on."
Helen
Helen and Graham count themselves lucky not to have been living in Ireland, Graham's homeland, when Helen needed to terminate her pregnancy.
In Ireland, Helen would have gone to jail for having an abortion. She would face a sentence of up to 14 years. Despite the fact that the foetus she was carrying would not survive.
Knowing that Helen's experience would have been much more traumatic than it already was, had they lived in Ireland, Graham and Helen decided to support our campaign to decriminalise abortion there.
“There are many reasons why people might need an abortion. My wife, Helen, and I, had our own reasons, and although we had excellent care in the UK, it's shocking to me that we would have had a very different experience in my home country."
Graham Linehan
How you can help
Help us call on Ireland to change its abortion laws and stop punishing women: