I attended the fourth annual march organised by the Abortion Rights Campaign today calling for free, safe and legal abortion in Ireland and for the repeal of the 8th amendment. This is as fundamental issue for me as marriage equality was. As a country we are denying reproductive rights to women and it needs to change.
I, and approx 10-12k people there today, believe a woman should be the only person making decisions about whether she wants to continue a pregnancy for whatever reason. Those who spoke today were hugely heartfelt, eloquent and brave. Furthermore, a RED C poll commissioned by Amnesty International this year found that 81% of those surveyed are in favour of significantly widening the grounds for legal abortion access in Ireland. That will require repealing the 8th amendment. It can’t come soon enough.