Patricia Casey

For the American baseball coach, see Pat Casey.

Patricia Rosarie Casey is an Irish psychiatrist and conservative activist. She is Professor of Psychiatry at University College Dublin and consultant psychiatrist at the Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin.[1] She may be best known for her promotion of mental health awareness, her views on a variety of social issues and her involvement with the Iona Institute.

Contents

Background and personal life

Brought up in Ballynoe in County Cork, Casey's father was a council worker and farmer, while her mother worked as a public health nurse at a time when it was highly unusual for both parents to work outside the home.[2] She has one sibling; a younger sister, Terry. Excelling at school, she went on to study medicine at University College Cork, graduating in 1976 with bachelors of medicine and surgery.[3] Soon after graduation, she met her husband, barrister John McGuiggan. Casey notes that she and her husband are at opposite ends of the political spectrum.[4]

Medical career

Casey has authored or co-authored six books and is editor of the The Psychiatrist, a publication of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Her clinical and research interests include depression, personality disorder and suicide prevention.[5][6] From 1994 to 1999, she chaired the Irish Fitness to Practise Medical Council Committee.[1] In 2007, The Dubliner magazine listed her in their Good Doctor Guide.[7]

Bibliography

Positions on social issues

Casey is a practising Roman Catholic. She sits on the board of the Iona Institute; a think tank which she helped to found, and which promotes a Catholic point of view.[8] Casey is known for her opposition to divorce, advising the Irish government against holding a referendum to legalise divorce in 1995.[4][9] She also maintains that "the sense of loss children feel when parents separate is greater than when a parent dies". She does not, however, disagree with divorce in the case of a violent or abusive spouse.[10] Casey also opposes abortion[11][12][13][14][15] surrogate pregnancy,[16] anonymous donor in vitro fertilisation,[17] non-traditional family units,[18] adoption by gay parents, and same-sex marriage.[4][19][20] She is a proponent of heterosexual adoption.[15] Casey has testified before the Irish Government, at the British House of Commons and in Irish legal cases on a number of these issues.[15][21] She also writes a regular opinion column for the Irish Independent newspaper and in the past has contributed to the Sunday Business Post and to the letters page of the Irish Times, as well as appearing on national television and radio.[4]

Misrepresentation of data

Casey has been faulted for misrepresenting research data in order to support her position against same-sex marriage and same-sex couple adoption. She has made repeated reference to a parenting study from Uppsala University, Sweden, as a study that shows that "children...do best when raised by their married biological parents,"[19][22] despite the fact that the University and the authors of the report have rejected as invalid Casey's interpretation of their results. They have stated that her claim that children do better when raised by married heterosexuals is "not valid based on our findings... no comparisons were made with gay or lesbian family constellations in the studies included in the review. Therefore, there is nothing whatsoever in our review that would justify the conclusion that same-sex parents cannot raise healthy children who do well."[23] Anna Sarkadi, the study's lead author, also commented, "I find it interesting that, since the report was published, we have been contacted by many ultra-conservative groups who are saying that it supports their point. But I think it's very important to be cautious about what conclusions you come to." Casey said that she was "just taking the results of the report to its logical conclusion."[24]

False claims of support

Casey has also falsely claimed that the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) supports her position on same-sex parenting.[19][22] The Executive Director of UNICEF Ireland, Melanie Verwoerd, responded that "Unicef does not make any judgments on the well being of children growing up with same-sex parents" and that Casey's claim of Unicef support was "incorrect and unacceptable".[25]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b UCD Research: Professor Patricia R Casey
  2. ^ "Mon, Mar 8, 2010 – How a new Ireland was forged on the anvil of one woman's suffering". The Irish Times. 3 March 2010. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/features/2010/0308/1224265792541.html. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  3. ^ http://www.medicalcouncil.ie/Registration/Search-for-a-doctor/Search-Results/?regno=009599&doctorid=30001993
  4. ^ a b c d "RTÉ – Conversations with Eamon Dunphy". Rte.ie. http://www.rte.ie/radio1/podcast/podcast_eamondunphy.xml. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  5. ^ "UCD". Rms.ucd.ie. https://rms.ucd.ie/ufrs/w_rms_cv_show.show_public?user=apsych@mater.ie. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  6. ^ Dominic Fannon (1 February 2005). "Patricia Casey". Pb.rcpsych.org. http://pb.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/29/2/81. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  7. ^ "The Dubliner Magazine: The Good Doctor Guide". Thedubliner.typepad.com. 5 April 2007. http://thedubliner.typepad.com/the_dubliner_magazine/2007/04/the_good_doctor.html. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  8. ^ "Iona – Personnel And Patrons". Ionainstitute.ie. http://www.ionainstitute.ie/personnel_patrons.php. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  9. ^ http://www.irishelection.com/10/your-tax-euros-at-work/
  10. ^ "| Irish Examiner". Archives.tcm.ie. 9 February 2004. http://archives.tcm.ie/irishexaminer/2004/02/09/story815941872.asp. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  11. ^ Ethical questions in embryo battle: ThePost.ie
  12. ^ "Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review". Studiesirishreview.ie. http://www.studiesirishreview.ie/j/page393. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  13. ^ "Family & Life". Familyandlife.org. http://www.familyandlife.org/newsletter_popup.php?id=40. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  14. ^ Conference on New Research in Irish Feminism – Events – Centre for Gender & Women's Studies – Trinity College
  15. ^ a b c "Joint Committee the Constitution – default 000523". Irlgov.ie. 12 January 2011. http://www.irlgov.ie/committees-00/c-constitution/000523/default.htm. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  16. ^ "Parish of Middle Killeavy Home". Middlekilleavy.com. http://www.middlekilleavy.com/index.php?artid=2630&option=com_cifeed&task=newsarticle. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  17. ^ Independent.ie. "The forbidden love between relatives separated at birth – Health, Frontpage". The Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/health/the-forbidden-love-between-relatives-separated-at-birth-1270147.html. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  18. ^ independent.ie apps. "We don't need wishful thinking on divorce facts – Analysis, Opinion". The Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/we-dont-need-wishful-thinking-on-divorce-facts-1291208.html. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  19. ^ a b c Casey, Patricia (10 March 2008). "Same-sex marriage and parenting". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2008/0310/1204843733113.html. 
  20. ^ "Tue, Apr 22, 2008 – Same-sex families on rise despite opposition". The Irish Times. 4 April 2008. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2008/0422/1208469018031.html. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  21. ^ The Committee Office, House of Commons (6 November 2007). "House of Commons – Science and Technology – Twelfth Report". Publications.parliament.uk. http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmsctech/1045/104511.htm. Retrieved 4 January 2012. 
  22. ^ a b Casey, Patricia (3 March 2008). "Debate on same-sex marriage". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2008/0303/1204240426692.html. 
  23. ^ Sarkadi, Anna (18 March 2008). "Debate on same-sex marriage". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/letters/2008/0318/1205706619593.html. 
  24. ^ McInerney, Sarah (23 March 2008). "Irish psychiatrist in same-sex row with top college". Sunday Tribune. http://www.tribune.ie/article/2008/mar/23/irish-psychiatrist-in-same-sex-row-with-top-colleg/?q=sarkadi. 
  25. ^ Verwoerd, Melanie (17 April 2008). "Debate on marriage and children". The Irish Times.