Woman in 'Miss D' case was told by social workers 'she'd be done for murder'

Trapped by other people's views and a lack of clear legislation, Amy, then 17, was thrust into the centre of one of Ireland's most bitterly divisive debates.

In care at the time, the teenager was initially prevented from leaving the country for an abortion.

But the High Court ruled that she had the right to travel in 2007 and criticised Irish authorities for how they handled her case.

Speaking ahead of tonight's TG4 documentary, Finné, she told RTÉ's Today with Sean O'Rourke about her personal tragedy which became a very public bellweather for a changing Ireland.

Now 29, Amy said that she was 'overwhelmed but excited' when she became pregnant aged 16.

But on her 17th birthday, she was devastated to learn that her little girl had anencephaly, a fatal fetal abnormality, "and had no chance of survival".

She went to a social worker "for support" after deciding that she wanted an abortion.

“The next minute I was in court,” Amy said.

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Amy was forced to undergo repeat psychological assessments. And although these reports found her to be “perfectly capable”, she was advised by social workers to stay in a psychiatric ward.

Amy said that memories of that time still traumatise her. Anti-abortion protesters called her a 'murderer' and 'satan'. They waved disturbing placards at her, and shouted and prayed over her as she walked into court.

“A guy with rosary beads and a prayer book prayed jibber-jabber over my face. He was a tall man and I was a small girl. He called me a murderer and talked about satan.

“It was very disturbing and it hurts to this day when I see pro-life people,” she said.

After the trial, Amy decided not to have an abortion and instead had her baby induced in Liverpool in the hope that she could take at least 'one breath of life'.

She refused pain relief for hours but her baby Jasmine was stillborn.

Feeling 'hazy' after a 16-hour labour she was wheeled into another room to see her baby.

“She had fingernails and toenails, everything you expect to see in a new baby but she was very small," Amy said. “Her face was covered in a blanket."

Kind nurses had advised Amy to take her time and to consider whether she wanted to remove the blanket covering her baby's face, 'or remember her in her own way.'

But Amy did not have that time as she was already booked on a flight back to Ireland.

“I was out of it after giving birth and I was afraid," Amy said. “I've never seen my child's face or held her."

Back home, Amy moved in with her boyfriend and fell pregnant again within two months.

But she was still tormented by gossip, bullying and judgement.

Newspapers offered her €300 for photos at her daughter's grave, former friends sold photos of her holding bottles of Smirnoff Ice to the press.

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“I lived in a small town, everyone was judging me. In Penney's girls pointed at me and said 'that's Miss D,'" Amy said.

Despite these difficulties, her son was born “as healthy and as big” as a baby could be.

The little boy is unaware about his mother and sister's case and how it impacted Irish society and changed the law.

Amy said that she is “forever haunted” by her ordeal. She does not like to be alone and stays permanently busy.

But she said that she is not ashamed anymore.

Amy now supports plans for protest exclusion zones around hospitals, and said that anti-abortion campaigners who do protest at hospitals "should be ashamed of themselves".

“You don't get an abortion like you'd get a pedicure," she said.

“An embryo is an embryo but that woman could have been raped, or already have other children she needs to care for.

"You have no idea why that person is getting that procedure. Until you're in the shoes of that person you can't judge them.”

Despite the trauma she was subjected to by Irish authorities, she says she has never received adequate counselling.