How the Yes and No sides won and lost the abortion referendum

How the Yes and No sides won and lost the abortion referendum

Harry McGee: Smiling Savita portraits proclaiming a new reality for Ireland
May 26, 2018

Harry McGee Political Correspondent

In the last few days of the referendum campaign on the Eight Amendment dozens of small posters appeared around Dublin.

The image was of Savita Halappanavar, instantly recognisable from her thick dark hair, wide smile, smiling eyes, and the Bindi dot on the forehead. The message contained one word: Yes. They were striking in their simplicity and directness.

The Savita case (read Kitty Holland’s report from 2012 here) was never too far away from people’s minds during the eight weeks that this extraordinary referendum campaign seeped into Irish public consciousness on doorsteps, in the streets, in the media, or on the airwaves… right up to polling day.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/abortion-referendum/how-the-yes-and-no-sides-won-and-lost-the-abortion-referendum-1.3509924


Ireland – Abortion referendum: Many minds not made up

Abortion referendum: Many minds not made up
Most young, urban dwellers favour repeal, but in rural areas the ‘12 weeks issue’ is key

March 16, 2018
Harry McGee Political Correspondent

The phrase “silent majority” has fallen out of fashion in Ireland in recent times. US president Richard Nixon popularised it the 1960s, when he claimed a majority of Americans were conservative by instinct but didn’t voice their opinions publicly as did the liberal minority.

During the 1983 debate on the Eighth Amendment, the outspoken Fine Gael TD and anti-abortion campaigner Alice Glenn used the phrase to great effect.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/abortion-referendum-many-minds-not-made-up-1.3429636


From Linda Kavanagh to Tracy Harkin: A guide to who’s who in Ireland’s divisive abortion debate

From Linda Kavanagh to Tracy Harkin: A guide to who's who in Ireland's divisive abortion debate
With Ireland's landmark referendum on the Eighth Amendment looming, voices on both sides of the abortion debate are getting ­ louder. But who exactly is lining out?

John Meagher
February 4 2018

It has been a momentous week for campaigners on both sides of the great abortion debate as it was finally confirmed that a referendum would be held this summer. Friday, May 25, is thought to be the most likely day for the referendum, one that pro-choice supporters hope will forever lift the ban on abortion.

But despite a series of opinion polls that indicate that the majority of the country wants change, the pro-life side believes a large cohort of people opposed to abortion have not had their voices heard.

Continued: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/abortion-referendum/from-linda-kavanagh-to-tracy-harkin-a-guide-to-whos-who-in-irelands-divisive-abortion-debate-36558195.html


Ireland: Katie Ascough to campaign in abortion referendum

Katie Ascough to campaign in abortion referendum
Former UCD student union president removed after students voted to impeach her

Nov 11, 2017
Seán Dunne

Former University College Dublin (UCD) Student Union president Katie Ascough said that she intends to campaign for the anti-abortion campaign in the referendum on the Eighth Amendment governing Ireland’s abortion laws next year.

Ms Ascough who is a prominent anti-abortion activist, and the daughter of Tom Ascough, who sits of the Iona Institute board of directors, was impeached by UCD students last month.

Continued at source: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/katie-ascough-to-campaign-in-abortion-referendum-1.3288718


Dublin student president ‘ousted over abortion views’

Dublin student president ‘ousted over abortion views’

By Ciarán Dunbar, BBC News NI
1 November 2017

The ousted president of University College Dublin (UCD) Students' Union has said she was voted out of her post for holding anti-abortion views.

Students voted to impeach Katie Ascough last week after she stopped information on abortion from being published in a magazine aimed at first year students.

Campaigners said she had repeatedly acted against the union's stance against Ireland's strict abortion laws.

Continued at source: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-41775320


Calls to impeach Dublin student president over anti-abortion stance

Calls to impeach Dublin student president over anti-abortion stance

University College Dublin’s Katie Ascough faces vote after removing abortion information from student handbook

Henry McDonald in Dublin
Wednesday 11 October 2017

Tensions in Ireland over abortion have erupted at a university campus with attempts to impeach a student union president over her decision to ban information on pregnancy terminations from a student handbook.

The bid to oust University College Dublin’s Katie Ascough over her strong anti-abortion views comes ahead of what is widely expected to be a rancorous wider campaign in the run-up to next year’s planned abortion reform referendum.

Continued at source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/11/calls-impeach-dublin-student-president-anti-abortion-stance-katie-ascough