28 May 2018 - Ireland Says 'Yes' to Abortion Reform
Ireland votes to repeal the 8th amendment in historic abortion referendum – and marks a huge cultural shift
Claire Pierson (The Conversation, 26/05/2018)
In a historic referendum, the Irish people have voted by a landslide to repeal the 8th amendment to the country’s constitution, allowing the government to legislate for abortion. The vote illustrates the monumental shift in attitudes towards women’s rights in Ireland. It’s also testament to the power of a grassroots mobilised campaign which enabled women to share 35 years worth of experiences of pregnancy under the 8th amendment.
High-profile cases such as that of Savita Halappanavar and Amanda Mellet resonated with the public conscience and the telling of thousands of everyday stories illustrated how many women have been affected by the 8th amendment. Groups such as Termination for Medical Reasons spoke of having to travel abroad to end pregnancies with foetal anomalies. Projects including In her Shoes and Not at Home have published stories of abortion travel and buying abortion pills to end pregnancies alone without support or aftercare. In our research (led by Dr Fiona Bloomer of Ulster University) on abortion as a workplace issue, women spoke of the silence and stigma surrounding abortion. They revealed the costs involved in having to travel, being able to afford or get leave from work, worries about confidentiality and access to follow-up treatment.
Painful activism pays off for Ireland's abortion campaigners
Emma Graham-Harrison (The Guardian, 28/05/2018)
Three decades ago, Anne Marie Keary was threatened with jail, burdened with legal bills and grappling with abuse and threats that poured down her phone, because she had published phone numbers for British abortion clinics in a student welfare guide.
In the pre-internet era, that information was a lifeline for women who did not want to continue with pregnancies. The desperation of those trying to find it shaped Keary’s life.
She was born in Ireland, a country where contraception and divorce were illegal, and abortion practically unmentionable, then came of age in the shadow of a 1983 referendum that effectively barred the termination of any pregnancy.
Ireland abortion vote: What happens now country has voted overwhelmingly to repeal strict laws?
Tom Powell (Evening Standard, 27/05/2018)
Ireland has voted overwhelmingly to liberalise some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe.
The public decided by a two-to-one landslide to repeal part of the state's constitution which effectively prohibits terminations unless a mother's life is endangered.
A referendum was held on Friday and produced overwhelming consensus for reform amongst men and women, nearly all classes and age groups, and across most counties in Ireland.
After Ireland says Yes to abortion, what next for Northern Ireland?
Kelly-Leigh Cooper (BBC News, 27/05/2018)
The Republic of Ireland voted on Friday to repeal part of its constitution that effectively outlawed abortion.
That change will soon leave Northern Ireland, already out of step with Great Britain, as the only part of either the UK or Ireland where abortion is illegal unless there is a serious risk to a woman's life or health.
Most women from Northern Ireland, who are seeking an abortion, travel to Britain.
Others risk prosecution by going online to buy so-called abortion pills.