90306736A Pro-Life demonstration outside Leinster House last Summer

Henry McDonald, Ireland correspondent of The Guardian reports this evening:

Pregnant women in Ireland could be blocked from having an abortion even if they are at risk of suicide after conceiving as a result of rape or incest, under new guidelines issued to Irish doctors.
Experts warned that the Guidance Document for Health Professionals, which has yet to be made public  but has been obtained by the Guardian, will give power to doctors, obstetricians and psychiatrists to prevent vulnerable women from terminating their pregnancies.

….The 108-page guide does not include provisions for an independent committee to make decisions on treating those with “suicidal intent”, which was a key demand among campaigners for reform…initial referral for women including those with “suicidal intent” begins with her own GP.

If the GP agrees, he or she will refer the woman to three doctors – including one obstetrician and two psychiatrists – who will decide whether there is a real risk to the woman’s life through suicide. If her request is rejected, she will go through an appeal system involving another two psychiatrists and another obstetrician….

Pregnant women face abortion ban in Ireland even if they’re a suicide risk (Henry McDonald, The Guardian)

(Leon Farrell/Photocall Ireland)

Thanks Sido

hunter-s-thompson-IFB0_o_tnHunter S Thompson

3pm. rise

3:05 Chivas Regal with the morning papers, Dunhills

3:45 cocaine

3:50 another glass of Chivas, Dunhill

4:05 first cup of coffee, Dunhill

4:15 cocaine

4:16 orange juice, Dunhill

4:30 cocaine

4:54 cocaine

5:05 cocaine

5:11 coffee, Dunhills

5:30 more ice in the Chivas

5:45 cocaine, etc., etc.

6:00 grass to take the edge off the day

7:05 Woody Creek Tavern for lunch- Heineken, two margaritas, coleslaw, a taco salad, a double order of fried onion rings, carrot cake, ice cream, a bean fritter, Dunhills, another Heineken, cocaine, and for the ride home, a snow cone (a glass of shredded ice over which is poured three or four jig­gers of Chivas.).

9:00 starts snorting cocaine seriously

10:00 drops acid

11:00 Chartreuse, cocaine, grass

11:30 cocaine, etc, etc.

12:00 Writing

12:05-6:00am. Chartreuse, cocaine, grass, Chivas, coffee, Heineken, clove cigarettes, grapefruit, Dunhills, orange juice, gin, continuous pornographic movies.

6am the hot tub-champagne, Dove Bars, fettuccine Alfredo.

8am Halcyon

8:20 sleep

Hunter S Thompson’s Daily Drink And Drug Intake (DangerousMinds)

Pic: Michael Orchs

 

Joe Kearns_Master Brewer

White Hag Master Brewer Joe Kearns with ‘Fleadh Ale’

Further to the banning of independent White Hag Brewery from the Fleadh in Sligo. after complaints by publicans and the Vintners’ federation of Ireland.

White Hag founder James Ward writes:

“Since we were turned down for our licence last week to run a Craft Beer Emporium over the Fleadh, we have had to devise a new route.

We’re launching our ‘Fleadh Ale’ a special one -off beer, to coincide with the hosting of the Fleadh in Sligo in 2014. The ’Fleadh Ale’, a Red IPA, will be launched this weekend 9th August in The Swagman, Sligo just ahead of the Fleadh opening.

It’s one-off batch and is priced the same as the rest, but we felt it was worth the coincidence of our launch and the Fleadh happening together.

Lillies, 5th on Teeling, Shoot the Crows and The Dail Bar are also hosting The White Hag’s ales and beers, which can be sampled throughout the Fleadh in Sligo. It’s a testament to the commitment of these pubs to supporting local business that they will take on our beers and ales and put us on their counters during the busiest week of the year.

For the first time in over 50 years Sligo will produce and distribute its own beers and ales, creating not just a unique collection of craft beer, but a brewery the people of the North West of Ireland will be proud of.

Regarding our licence application, it’s beyond belief that a small group of self-serving publicans can effectively prevent a new local business from benefiting in full from the exposure the Fleadh will bring to Sligo.

People across the country and worldwide are seeing a seismic shift in brewing, and in the beers customers want, but some publicans in Sligo are stuck in the past, and its simply not good enough for any group in any town to behave like this

Thanks also to Broadsheet for your support, And to the readers, we’ll give away our very mixed first crate, with a 4-pack of each of our 6 bottled beers. Simply give us the best excuse why you need this beer…”

Lines MUST close at 5.45pm 6.30pm

UPDATE: winner here

White Hag Brewery

Previously: Just A Phase We’re Going Through

Thanks Bob Coggins

bray

Bray seafront last Summer

A pair of tickets to see Heathers perform LIVE at the Mermaid Arts Centre, Bray, Co Wicklow was on offer.

We asked: what are your thoughts of existential seaside town Bray – a place some of us at the ‘sheet like to call home.

You responded in your dozens.

Runners up:

“When I think of Bray I think I need to go, I need to run away for blah blah…for a while…for a while.” (Mort)

“When I think of Bray, I think of Smelly Balls’ ” (Lynsey)

“When I think of Bray I think of Ice cream, a beach that’s more stones, than beach, touching weird things in the aquarium and my Nanny stealing all my change so she can go play the slots.” (Rebecca McGrane)

Winner:

“When I think of Bray I think of the fat old Labrador who waddled up over the cold grey shingle and puked up his half-digested chips over my milky childhood feet.” (3stella’)

Mermaid Arts Centre

UPDATE: 3Stella can’t make the concert. Rebecca McGrane bags the tickets.

Previously: Knock Us Down With Heathers

kerryKerry General Hospital

Last week in the High Court, Judge Sean Ryan ruled against Ciara Hamilton, who was taking a case against the HSE. She now faces a six-figure legal bill.

Ms Hamilton claimed that a midwife at Kerry General Hospital artificially broke her waters on June 11, 2011, through a procedure called ARM.

She alleged this rupture of her waters led her to have an emergency C-section due to a cord prolapse – where the umbilical cord drops into the birth canal in front of the baby’s head during delivery.

Cord prolapse can cause stillbirth unless the baby is delivered quickly.

The court heard Ms Hamilton’s baby boy, Jacob, was born safe and well.

However, Ms Hamilton claimed she suffered personal injuries, loss and damage because of the C-section.

Following Judge Ryan’s decision last week, the Irish Examiner reported:

Mr Justice Ryan found that it was reasonable for the midwife involved to seek reassurance with an artificial rupture of the membranes. The midwife was the person entitled, authorised and qualified to make the decision, the judge said.

When the midwife broke the waters, the judge said she immediately appreciated the cord had prolapsed and responded appropriately by raising the alarm while protecting the baby from injury.

On May 14, the Irish Times reported:

The claims are denied and the High Court heard the midwife in the case will say she discussed the artificial rupture of the membranes with Ms Hamilton and that her rationale was a concern for the health of the child.

However, yesterday afternoon, AIMSI (Association for Improvement in the Maternity Services in Ireland)  claimed it has been told that Ms Hamilton was unaware the midwife was going to break her waters.

In a blog post, updated yesterday evening, AIMSI wrote:

AIMSI has received confirmation that the woman in this case was unaware the midwife was going to break her waters. An ARM was performed during a routine exam with no discussion or opportunity for the woman to consent or refuse treatment.

It’s also been claimed that Ms Hamilton was a carrier of Group B Strep, a common streptococcus bacteria, which apparently is more likely to be passed to a baby if the mother’s waters are broken prematurely (before 37 weeks). The amniotic fluid acts as a protective barrier for babies.  

Meanwhile, Mind The Baby blog  yesterday wrote:

“So the intervention was performed without the woman’s knowledge. Justice Ryan has judged that performing an intervention that is not based on evidence or best international practice, without the knowledge or consent of a labouring woman, is acceptable and appropriate. Even in this case where the intervention itself caused an obstetric emergency and had long-term negative consequences for both mother and baby. Where does the average woman who has an intervention during labour without her permission or knowledge, but doesn’t have such serious long-term effects, stand? If the action in this case has been deemed appropriate in the High Court, God help us all.”

Anyone?

Mother who sued over care at Kerry General Hospital faces massive legal bill (Irish Examiner)

The High Court Says We Can’t Say No (Mind The Baby)

Not a consent issue (No Country For Pregnant Women)

Related: Midwife unnecessarily broke woman’s waters, court hears (Irish Times, May 14, 2014) 

Woman sues after alleged inappropriate interference during birth of her baby (Irish Independent, May 14, 2014)

Thanks Deborah

Screen Shot 2014-08-07 at 01.28.22

Director Tom Gould’s portrait of the outwardly intimidating Martyka ‘Skin Dog’ Brandt – one of the few Pākehā veterans of New Zealand’s largest and most notorious street gang – the Napier/Hastings Mongrel Mob.

Inside Brandt’s heavily tatted cover lies an unexpected book, to wit:

From being admitted to a mental institution at the age of 14, escaping and living a life of Mongrelism, Martyka’s life drastically changed as he began to raise his own family, later becoming a solo father raising 10 children through welfare and foster care.

shortoftheweek

Broadsheet.ie