Radio complaint upheld after woman who had abortion called ‘murderer’

A woman who was called a liar and a murderer live on radio after terminating a pregnancy following a diagnosis of a fatal foetal abnormality has had a complaint to the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI) partially upheld.

At its meeting in December, the compliance committee of the BAI considered eight complaints, one of which was partially upheld, and seven of which were rejected.

Jennifer Ryan, who was interviewed on 98FM's Dublin Talks show on August 26th, complained that after outlining her story of having an abortion to the presenter, callers were invited to give their views on the decision.

One caller, named only as “Jimmy”, questioned Ms Ryan on her child’s burial and asked whether or not they had had a Christian service in a church or in private, as well as querying where the burial had taken place.

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Ms Ryan said the caller was then allowed to make “several hurtful and grossly offensive” comments. For example, he said that she had the “audacity to take that child home”; “it’s killing an innocent child”; “abortion is murder - thou shalt not kill”; and “is this just a Walter Mitty pro-abortion story?”

Ms Ryan said the presenter eventually took control of the discussion but decided to end her participation in the programme. However, the caller who had made the comments about her was kept on-air.

In its reply to the BAI, 98FM said Ms Ryan did not have to agree to go on the show. She was informed that it was a caller-based show and that there would be other callers involved. “Every opportunity was given to the complainant to decline participation,” it said.

The broadcaster also said the complainant was given 20 uninterrupted minutes to discuss her experience, and that the presenter treated her with respect and sensitivity throughout.

“When one caller went too far and questioned the veracity of the complainant’s story, the presenter intervened and stated that to suggest such a thing was outrageous,” it said. “The presenter also made it clear that the only reason this caller was brought on was due to our statutory obligation to provide balance.”

The BAI partially upheld Ms Ryan’s complaint on the basis the programme did not meet the obligation for fairness set out in the BAI Code of Fairness, Objectivity and Impartiality in News and Current Affairs.

The broadcaster was also found to have failed in its obligation to take timely corrective action when unplanned content is likely to have caused offence.

“The committee found that it was evident from feedback during the programme that this caller and his remarks were causing clear offence to the audience,” said the BAI.

“It was the view of the committee that, given this and given that his comments were made directly to a caller who had undergone a traumatic experience, the programme makers had failed to take appropriate action so as to avoid undue offence to audiences and to the complainant.

“Moreover, the committee found that by permitting the caller to direct these remarks to the complainant and by leaving this caller on-air while ending the call with the complainant, the programme makers had failed to deal fairly with the complainant.”

Separately, the BAI rejected five complaints against the 2016 Rose of Tralee. Most of the complaints related to comments made by the North Carolina Rose Maigan Kennedy (27) in relation to the Irish Roman Catholic mass.

One complainant, Philomena Travers, said Ms Kennedy was permitted to “ridicule, make fun of and generally rubbish the Irish Roman Catholic mass”.

Ms Kennedy told host Dáithí Ó Sé the act of sitting down and standing up at mass was “like going to a gym and being given a biscuit at the end”. The complainant also took issue with Mr Ó Sé who asked: “was it gluten free?”

RTÉ said it was not its intention to cause offence to anyone’s religious beliefs and that it regrets when this occurs. However, it asserted that it did not agree with Ms Travers’ characterisation of the exchange.

Another complainant, Christine Doran, took issue with Sydney Rose Brianna Parkins who, during her time on stage, called for a referendum on the eighth amendment to the constitution, which guarantees the right to life of the unborn.

RTÉ said the comments were unscripted and that Mr Ó Sé immediately moved on to another subject. The complaint was rejected.