Ireland must remove the shackles from its women (vote on abortion ban 25 may)

[niyad]

9and I am STILL waiting for the rcc's apology to women for the Magdalene Laundries)

Ireland must remove the shackles from its women

By Una Mullally

(video at link)
Traveling abroad to get an abortion



"Una Mullally is a journalist, author and screenwriter from Dublin. She is a columnist with the Irish Times and contributes to the Guardian. The opinions in this article belong to the author. "

(CNN)This week, 47 years ago, a group of Irish feminists boarded what became known as the Contraceptive Train -- a train to and from Belfast so they could buy condoms, take them back to Dublin and goad the police to arrest them. The protest against the illegality of contraceptives was a landmark moment in Irish society, a perspective that could not be unseen and a point of view that shifted public discourse. The women's movement in Ireland has fought many battles: from the glorious stunt of that train journey to the divorce referendum in 1995. But 2018 presents the greatest challenge yet: will the Irish people remove the eighth amendment from the constitution -- a ban on abortion introduced in 1983 -- by referendum on May 25?

'Irish abortions happen; they just don't happen on Irish soil' If the past is a different country for most nations, in Ireland, it's a different continent. The social change that has occurred here since the 1990s -- when the scale of the sexual abuse of children by members of the Catholic Church began to be revealed -- is profound. Marriage equality was legalized by popular vote in 2015, and Ireland has some of the most progressive legislation on transgender rights in the world. Yet legal abortion has been the third rail of Irish politics for so long.

How can a country legalize gay marriage but not abortion? How can Irish people say the Catholic Church has lost its moral authority and power while Irish women still can't access basic health care? The answer lies in a complex legacy of control and oppression of women that is as off-putting to many Irish women as it is to their global sisters. In the aftermath of the marriage referendum, the country seized a progressive energy, and a newly politicized generation began to challenge something that 35 years of activism failed to dismantle.



. . . .
The vote will be tight. But the resolve to remove the eighth amendment is strong.
In the face of a No campaign that has been emotive to the point of hysterical -- graphic posters shock tourists in the capital -- the Yes campaign has taken on a steely resilience.
With just days to go, a profound change may be about to happen. But more profound will be what that change is actually reflecting: a modern country that seeks to remove shackles that have bound it -- and its women -- for far too long.


https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/23/opinions/ireland-2018-abortion-referendum-opinion-intl/index.html

[geardaddy]

1. K&R for exposure

[niyad]

2. thank you.

[geardaddy]

3. It's unbelievable that a nation like the ROI has come so far in many things, but outlaws abortion.

[niyad]

4. all about patriarchal control of women.

[OnDoutside]

7. Have a look at neanderthal "Holy Joes" supporting Trump, and that's who we have against progress

here. Worse, the American ones are passing money over to the No campaign.

[OnDoutside]

5. I was driving towards a roundabout outside our city's main hospital earlier, when I came across

three 60+ year old MEN, holding an 8ft by 6ft banner containing a picture of a bloodied foetus, some bullshit words and a big Vote No. These are some evil lying fuckers. Fortunately the window was wound down so I was able shout that out to them as I was passing by.

[niyad]

8. THANK YOU

[geardaddy]

11. Good on you!

[smirkymonkey]

6. K&R

[CaliforniaPeggy]

9. Thank you for this great post, my dear niyad. It is so important.

I will be looking tomorrow for the results.

I am hoping against hope for a Yes vote!

[niyad]

10. here is hoping that the age of miracles has not passed.

[voteearlyvoteoften]

12. Talked to some young men in Dublin today

They were handing out yes buttons. I asked about the polling and although it’s fairly even they said it’s 57% for Yes among likely voters. Outside money has come in from the US to pay for the signs on literally every lamp post in Ireland. But the energy and the people who are waving signs on street corners are all for Yes.
I believe the referendum will pass and the government has said they will make it law.

[OnDoutside]

13. It's been nasty right to the end...

Link to tweet

[OnDoutside]

14. You just know the YES side is right when the Orange Order comes out in support of NO

Orange Order members in the Republic have been urged to vote ‘No’ in Friday’s referendum on relaxing the country’s abortion laws. In a statement released today, the Grand Lodge of Ireland said it was calling on its “members, supporters and friends” to follow the Bible’s teaching and reject the repeal of the constitution’s Eighth Amendment. It said: “The government has made it clear, if the Eighth Amendment is repealed, it intends to introduce new legislation, including permitting unrestricted abortion during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. “The Bible is clear: ‘Children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.’ Psalm 127:3.” The Grand Lodge statement concluded: “We would suggest all those voting on this sensitive issue reflect on what abortion is and read what God says about the sanctity of human life.”

Read more at: https://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/abortion-referendum-orange-order-urges-no-vote-1-8509317

[niyad]

15. thank you for that excellent informaation.