Campaigning for abortion rights in Ireland has stepped up since the
announcement of the date and wording of a referendum on
constitutional change to allow abortion. The referendum will be held
on May 25. It will ask voters whether to repeal the section of the
Irish constitution that bans abortion, and to allow parliament to
make laws to regulate abortion.
Currently, abortion is banned by the Irish constitution under an
amendment (the Eighth Amendment) adopted by referendum in 1983.
According to the amendment,
‘The State acknowledges the
right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right
to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far
as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.’
According to Shauna Stanley of the Melbourne Irish Abortion Rights
Campaign, the impetus for the amendment was the Roe v Wade ruling in
the US. Anti-abortion activists in Ireland wanted to prevent similar
judicial intervention from making abortion accessible to women in the
republic.
Abortion rights campaigners have waged a campaign for over 30 years,
beginning with the "No" campaign in that referendum, and
continuing efforts that have borne fruit in a change in public
attitudes, constitutional and legal change and now the growing call
to repeat the Eighth Amendment.
Attempts by the state to restrict pregnant women's access to
information about abortion and right to travel to obtain abortion
were overturned by successive referenda, which added two further
amendments to the constitution:
‘This
subsection shall not limit freedom to travel between the State and
another state.’
‘This subsection shall not limit freedom to obtain or make available, in the State, subject to such conditions as may be laid down by law, information relating to services lawfully available in another state.’
While
the later provisions give people needing abortion some protection, it
means (as many abortion rights campaigners point out) abortion is a
problem that Ireland exports. As a result of the ban, an estimated
4000 women and non-binary or trans people travel abroad (mostly to
the UK, but also the Netherlands and France) each year to obtain
abortion. Up to 2000 risk a 14 year gaol term by taking medications
obtained online, to induce abortion. The number who are unable to
obtain abortion and simply continue a crisis pregnancy, with all the
impacts that has, is unknown.
Ireland's abortion ban is among the strictest in the world. It is
extensive, with few exceptions. The impact of the ban on abortion in
Ireland is not only felt by women who are simply not ready for
parenting, or who can't manage for socioeconomic reasons, but also
those who have conceived from rape, are in coercive or violent
relationships or have serious but not life-threatening health
problems. Although the constitution refers to the "equal right"
to life of the mother, the chilling effect of the abortion ban on
healthcare providers and institutions is so extreme that in 2012 it
led to the death of a woman, Savita Halappanavar, who was
miscarrying. Although she was told her miscarriage was inevitable and
requested medical intervention to empty her uterus, it was refused on
the basis that there was still a foetal heartbeat - and despite her
condition deteriorating as she developed overwhelming infection as a
result of the miscarriage.
Savita's death galvanised the growing community opposition to the
abortion ban, with massive and growing annual marches for choice
calling for abortion to be legal. In a quirky twist, the appearance
in around 2012, of insensitive graphic billboard advertising
publicising opposition to abortion, itself sparked a renewed
enthusiasm for organising and mobilising for abortion rights among a
layer of the community.
A 2013 law, the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act, subsequently
codified that threats to the woman's life (as distinct from health),
including the risk of suicide, would constitute grounds for abortion.
Attempts by the parliament to widen eligibility of people who could
become pregnant have been struck down by the courts, because of the
constitutional protection of the foetus. According to Stanley, this
has also led to a strengthening of the pro-choice movement and its
focus on calls to repeal the Eighth Amendment.
According to Stanley, in 2016, the campaign started to gain more
momentum. Recognising the centenary of the Dublin Easter Rising, the
Abortion Rights Campaign ran a campaign under the slogan "Rise
and Repeal," linking the campaign for abortion rights to
republican struggle and Ireland's historical context. The campaign
drew out the proclamation of the republic's founder that the it was
to be one in which Irish men and Irish women would have equal rights
- something clearly absent in an Ireland where half the population is
denied reproductive justice.
In the same period, the Repeal Project apparel campaign took off.
Black jumpers with the word "repeal" on them spread the
message and sparked conversations among people who might not have
identified with more traditional political campaign activism.
During the Polish "Black Friday" women's strike of 2016,
when the Polish government threatened to wind back what little space
there is for legal abortion in that country, members of the Polish
diaspora within Ireland mobilised in solidarity. Inspired by this
action, on International Women's Day in March 2017, the abortion
rights movement in Ireland held a women's strike - wearing black and
staying away from work.
In line with the rising activism and campaign visibility, opinion
polls in recent years have shown majority support for liberalising
access to abortion.
As the campaign for reform continued to gain traction, the issue was
referred to the Irish Citizens' Assembly, an exercise in deliberative
democracy involving a random selection of citizens, tasked with
making recommendations about a range of issues. In April 2017, they
voted to recommend a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment and
allow the government to legislate to regulate abortion.
In response, Leo Varadkhar, the Irish prime minister (Taoiseach),
announced in September that the referendum would be held in mid-2018.
Announcement of the exact timing and wording of the referendum was
delayed while the government awaited a Supreme Court ruling on
whether the constitution provides for any foetal rights other than
the right to life. The March 6 Supreme Court ruling that there are no
other foetal rights under the constitution than the right to life
paved the way for the decisions to be made on the referendum.
The Irish cabinet marked International Women's Day (IWD) 2018 by
introducing the legislation to hold the referendum, and on March
25th, the May 25th referendum date was announced. The government has
pledged that if the referendum is passed, it will introduce
legislation to replace the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act,
decriminalising abortion for the pregnant person and introducing laws
that make abortion readily available in the first 12 weeks of
pregnancy, with restrictions as to reason thereafter.
Together4Yes, a coalition of over 70 groups from across Ireland,
launched its campaign - modelled on the successful marriage equality
campaign - on March 22. In the lead-up to the launch, member
organisations have been training canvassers and recruiting volunteers
from across the country to undertake the task of doorknocking and
engaging people across the country, with a focus on those who are
undecided.
The breadth of support for the campaign is evident in the packed
calendar of campaign activities around Ireland, from art
installations, public meetings and campaign stalls to punk gigs,
singalongs, story-telling and comedy events.
And the campaign isn't limited to Ireland. In 2016, the online
campaign Repeal Global was initiated to call and coordinate
solidarity actions to coincide with the major annual marches for
choice. Just like during the marriage equality campaign, there are
campaign committees in the Irish diaspora around the world. The
London Irish Abortion Rights Campaign launched a #hometovote campaign
urging eligible voters around the world to make plans to travel back
to vote in the referendum.
In Australia, campaign events have been held since 2016, with rallies
in Melbourne in solidarity with the marches for choice in Dublin in
2016 and 2017, and other actions in Sydney, Perth and Darwin. The
Melbourne Irish Abortion Rights Campaign formed a contingent calling
for repeal of the eighth amendment to march in Melbourne's IWD march
in 2017.
In the countdown to the referendum, Stanley says, the campaign focus
is on fundraising. "Living in Australia, it would cost $2000 to
return to Ireland to vote. Irish citizens who have been out of the
country for 18 months aren't allowed to vote. And the laws about
donations to electoral campaigns are quite strict. Only citizens can
donate. Many of us are going to return to Ireland some day. And we
want to return to an Ireland that has proper healthcare. If you need
an abortion, you should be able to get it in your home country. We
want to do something. Even if we can't vote, we can raise money to
support the campaign. We want to reach out to members of the Irish
diaspora in other cities, to support them to be part of the campaign
- whether it's organising fundraisers, or participating in the social
media campaigns, or encouraging to talk with their grandparents back
home."
And in the spirit of the solidarity that connects the Polish and
Irish struggles, she added, "and we want to support the
campaigns in Australia, in NSW and Queensland. We'd like to support
organising solidarity in the states where abortion is legal, to help
the campaigns in NSW and Queensland, where it's not."
