THE EDITOR OF the Roscommon People has said the newspaper will review the content of a bizarrely worded anti-abortion ad that appeared in a recent edition.
It follows criticism from a local pro-choice group and Roscommon-Galway Sinn Féin TD Claire Kerrane.
The paper ran an advertisement from the group Friends for Life on 26 July, in which it juxtaposed the fines faced by people who “deliberately take or destroy eggs from the wild” with what it described as “financial rewards” given to doctors “for each baby killed”.
Roscommon for Choice said it was “appalled” at the advertisement, adding:
The inflammatory language appears designed to incite anger towards our doctors, who provide necessary reproductive health services.
It noted that the advertisement had appeared intermittently in the paper over the past number of years, most recently in February.
“While we accept the People is a community paper that wishes to accommodate all views, we feel that an ounce of human compassion would preclude the printing of these images, which only serve to shame those who need access to such vital services.”
Claire Kerrane, who was involved with Roscommon for Choice and campaigned for a Yes vote during the 2018 referendum, said ads like this served no purpose.
Kerrane said she respected the views of people on the other side of the debate.
“But I just don’t think its necessary to put these kind of advertisements in the public newspaper,” she continued. “I think the advertisements are unhelpful. I think they’re cruel.”
She said that for many women deciding to have an abortion is “really, really difficult decision”, and many women who do decide to have an abortion are in difficult situations.
“The people spoke. They had the referendum. The people gave their answer loud and clear.”
Editor of the Roscommon People, Paul Healy, told The Journal in a statement that the advertisement had been placed in the paper by a local campaign group.
He said that it was never the paper’s intention to cause “hurt or upset” to any readers.
“The content of the advertisement, which under no circumstances can be considered to reflect the views or the ethos of the Roscommon People, will be reviewed on foot of the feedback we have received.”
In 2022, the paper received criticism over the running of the same advertisement in a letter to the editor that was printed on 8 July.
In a response issued at the time, Healy said: “As a community newspaper we believe we have an obligation to accommodate all views” and that this approach “was clearly evidenced by our coverage of the abortion issue”.
“We are satisfied that it was proper to accept the particular advertisement referred to,” he said, and added again that the ad could not be presumed to represent the views of the Roscommon People.
The claim in the ad about a €450 ‘reward’ for doctors appears to be based on the fee offered to medical practitioners who provide termination of pregnancy services in community settings. The HSE reached an agreement with the IMO in late 2018 that doctors would be paid €150 for the patient’s first consultation, and €300 for the combined termination procedure and aftercare. The agreement became law in early 2019.
The Journal contacted the number printed on the advertisement. A man who answered the call said he did not wish to comment on the ad.
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