Irish abortion referendum: Religious leaders' views

[trotsky]

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-44162188

When the people of Ireland go to the polls next week, it will be the sixth time the nation has voted on abortion.

...Patsy McGarry, religious affairs correspondent at The Irish Times, said the churches' influence this time is considerably diminished.

He said Ireland has become a more secular country and that its young people are much more aware of the outside world.

"We have much more experience of the outside world and probably have greater experience of life than was the case in 1983," he said.

I hope the women of Ireland will soon enjoy control over their reproductive decisions.

[TimeSnowDemos]

1. It's extremely OTT here

for Ireland.

And it's backfiring frankly.

What do I mean? You can't go down a street in any town in the country without being faced with pretty EXTREME anti-choice posters. Parents here - and Ireland is still VERY family focused - don't think it's appropriate to explain abortion to their under-10s. This extreme tactic is not normal here and it's caused a pretty huge backlash.

More than with the gay marriage vote this will come down to urban vs rural I think. I think it'll pass by maybe 3-5%. Max.

Of course it doesn't REALLY matter in a way, as Ireland either has to allow abortion or face millions and millions and millions in fines from the EU.

So it's going to change. Hopefully it changes through this referendum though, instead of the gov forcing it on people.