"Nuns Don't Get Cervical Cancer": A Reproductive-Justice Approach to Understanding the Cervical-Cancer Prevention Crisis in Ireland

Abstract

From 2015 to 2018 scandals surrounding the human papillomavirus (HPV) and cervical-cancer screening in the Republic of Ireland revealed serious deficiencies in the nation’s health-care system. A misinformation campaign conducted in 2015 about the HPV vaccine resulted in a sharp decline in Irish vaccination levels, and in 2018 Ireland’s CervicalCheck screening program was revealed to be flawed. In the Scally Report (2018), a scoping inquiry into the problems at CervicalCheck, key informants pointed to the significant gendered failings of the Irish health-care system, noting that “there is a history of looking at women’s health services as being secondary,” “women and women’s rights are not taken seriously,” and “paternalism is alive and well.” The report identified the need for expert and committed attention to women’s issues within the health-care system. Through an analysis of two scandals, the CervicalCheck screening program and the HPV-vaccination-misinformation campaign, this study investigates the cervical-cancer prevention crisis in Ireland through the lens of reproductive justice. HPV vaccination and cervical screening are health behaviors that illuminate the intersection of oppressions based on race, ethnicity, socioeconomic position, ability,