The Citizens Assembly voted earlier this month in favour of changing the laws on abortion in Ireland, putting the Government under pressure to call a referendum on this issue.
The Eighth Amendment is the part of the Irish Constitution which prohibits abortion except in cases where the woman’s life is at risk. There has been much debate over this issue, with protests and marches from those who want to “repeal the eighth” as well as those who want to keep abortion illegal.
On the 8th of March, International Women’s Day, reportedly over 10,000 people took to the streets to march in protest of the Eighth Amendment. The biggest march took place in Dublin, with protesters blocking O’Connell Bridge and gathering outside the Dáil.
The Liberty interview local people in the area to find out what their view was on the issue.
Holly Burke, 19, student in NCAD – “I feel like it’s ridiculous in this day and age we still have to have this debate….women should be allowed the right to choose what happens with their own bodies”
Micky Whelan, 54, Dublin – “It’s a bit of a tough one for me to be honest, as on the one hand I have kids and a baby granddaughter on the way and the thought of anything like that which could affect them is just not ok in my head….but on the other hand, I don’t have a womb, so I guess I have no right to say anything”
Deborah Durand, 22, Lyon, Erasmus student – “I’m only over here in Ireland for a semester before I head back to France so I don’t know all that much…but I do think that everyone should have a right to make their own decisions and live how they want”
Jay Kelly, 27, Dublin – “I marched in protest, I have the badges and the jumper calling for the Government to scrap the stupid law….at the end of the day not giving the option of abortion ruins lives, I think anyway”