Ireland – Bid to fix abortion law in Constitution did not work

Noel Whelan: Bid to fix abortion law in Constitution did not work
Eighth Amendment has forced isolation and travel on thousands of pregnant Irish women

May 3, 2018
Noel Whelan

We are not debating the merits of the Eighth Amendment in the abstract, this time around. It has been in the Constitution for more than 35 years. We know how it played out – and it wasn’t the way its proponents argued and hoped it would.

In 1983, those who opposed the amendment warned that its terms were vague and uncertain.

In the years since, our superior courts have spent many days hearing arguments about the levels of care permissible. Volumes of law reports have been filled with judicial pronouncements on the meaning of “with due regard to”, “as far as is practicable” and “unborn”. A third of the alphabet has been deployed as pseudonyms for the names of women whose crisis pregnancies became the subject of litigation.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/abortion-referendum/noel-whelan-bid-to-fix-abortion-law-in-constitution-did-not-work-1.3482939


Geraldine Kennedy: Why I am a reluctant Yes to repeal Eighth Amendment

Geraldine Kennedy: Why I am a reluctant Yes to repeal Eighth Amendment
It’s a long way from what I voted against in 1983 to the right to abortion at 12 weeks ‘without any indication’

April 27, 2018
Geraldine Kennedy

There have been almost 30 referendums since the Constitution was adopted in 1937. I have covered the vast majority of them in my journalistic career. There have been more abortion questions put to the people in referendums than any other single issue in the history of the State. So, I have become something of a specialist on abortion. The referendum on May 25th is the sixth time around for me.

The first time was on September 7th, 1983, when the Eighth Amendment was put into the Constitution. It is hard to believe that it was held almost 35 years ago. This means every voter under the age of 53 years or so, depending on their political awareness, has no personal memory of that campaign.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/geraldine-kennedy-why-i-am-a-reluctant-yes-to-repeal-eighth-amendment-1.3476601


Ireland- Anti-abortion movement trusts politicians only when it suits them

Anti-abortion movement trusts politicians only when it suits them
Eighth Amendment was result of efforts in 1983 to politicise abortion

Mar 31, 2018
Diarmaid Ferriter

Over the decades, champions of the Eighth Amendment have been conveniently selective in their assessments of the usefulness of politicians. During the Seanad debate on the abortion Bill on Wednesday, Senator Ronán Mullen was adamant that “politicians simply can’t be trusted on this issue”; indeed the Eighth Amendment, he insisted, was originally designed to “take this issue away from politicians”.

But it was the politicians who the orchestrators of the Eighth Amendment found extremely useful in 1983. Emily O’Reilly’s 1992 book, Masterminds of the Right underlines a secret world of a very small group who plotted the 1983 amendment and got the politicians to do their bidding.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/anti-abortion-movement-trusts-politicians-only-when-it-suits-them-1.3445715


Ireland – FitzGerald ‘railroaded’ into 1983 abortion referendum, Barry Desmond claims

FitzGerald ‘railroaded’ into 1983 abortion referendum, Barry Desmond claims
Gemma Hussey recalls threatening letters warning ‘we know where you live’

Feb 19, 2018
Michael O'Regan

The late Fine Gael taoiseach Dr Garret FitzGerald was “ politically railroaded’’ by Fianna Fáil’s Charles Haughey into agreeing to the controversial 1983 abortion referendum, former Labour minister Barry Desmond has claimed.

Mr Desmond, who was minister for health in the then Fine Gael-Labour coalition, refused to handle the referendum Bill in the Dáil because of his strong opposition to the wording, and responsibility for it was instead allocated by Dr FitzGerald to Michael Noonan, who was minister for justice.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/fitzgerald-railroaded-into-1983-abortion-referendum-barry-desmond-claims-1.3396713


Ireland: How Peter Sutherland tried in vain to stop the Eighth Amendment

How Peter Sutherland tried in vain to stop the Eighth Amendment
Sutherland’s alternative referendum wording may have resulted in a more restrictive abortion regime in the long run

Sat, Jan 13, 2018
Joe Humphreys

Peter Sutherland, whose funeral took place this week, was a central figure in the drama surrounding the introduction of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution 35 years ago. As attorney general, he convinced then taoiseach Garret FitzGerald to oppose the wording of the so-called “Pro-Life Amendment”, which would ultimately be passed in a referendum in September 1983.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/how-peter-sutherland-tried-in-vain-to-stop-the-eighth-amendment-1.3353426