Dr Claire Murray Awarded Wellcome Trust Funding to Establish the Interdisciplinary Ethics, Law and Pregnancy in Ireland Network

29 Aug 2019

ELPIN will facilitate the development of critical competencies among researchers around ethical and legal issues in pregnancy and childbirth in the new medical/legal/social/ethical environment following the repeal of the 8^th Amendment to the Constitution in May 2018.

For more than 30 years, legal and medical responses to pregnancy and childbirth were constrained by the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Ireland which protected the right to life of the 'unborn' and profoundly limited the pregnant person's agency and health.

Following the repeal of the Eighth Amendment, it is time to re-examine all aspects of pregnancy and childbirth from a position which highlights the importance of agency, autonomy and dignity.

ELPIN (the Ethics, Law and Pregnancy in Ireland Network) will engage academics across different disciplines, as well as women’s health/reproductive rights advocates, and health professionals.

Its broad range of participants will best capture the complexities of pregnancy and childbirth and will provide participants with the skills and knowledge to best address emerging ethical and legal questions.

The foundation for ELPIN will be provided through three workshops and a website with resources for researchers and 'explainers' aimed at women’s health advocates, pregnant persons and the general public.