The first protest I ever went to was with my Mother to fight against a proposed “travel ban” on pregnant women wishing to take the ferry to England to seek medical care that they were denied here in Ireland. Fortunately that small battle was won, however the thought of an actual introduction of reproductive choice legislation was not even a distant prospect. 20 years later thousands of women are still forced out of Ireland every year due to crisis pregnancies. Finally though, after a hard one campaign fought by dedicated individuals and groups all over the country, we have a chance to step out of the shadow of the Catholic dogma that has fed our legislation and medical practices for centuries and amend a constitution that has caused such harm and sorrow for so many decades. Solidarity with all those I know, and have never met, fighting for their freedom this week. Hope and strength to them and their allies. Keep the faith.
I know this website is so american-centric but I want to get this out there because the referendum is fast approaching.
On the 25th of May in Ireland, we’re having a referendum to decide if the laws in Ireland that make abortion illegal will be removed or will remain.
I just want to say how important it is that we vote yes, to remove these laws from the constitution.
As of now, abortion is illegal in the Republic of Ireland unless the life of the mother is at risk of death, including suicide. It is also illegal to travel abroad for an abortion or even learn about where they can get an abortion outside of the state. Those who do so can face up to 14 years in jail.
There have been terrible things that have happened to women in Ireland that could have been prevented by allowing them to have an abortion.
One such case is of Savita Halappanavar, who went to hospital with back pains, suffered a miscarriage and died in hospital seven days later. Savita and her husband, Praveen, asked several times for an abortion but were denied because the medical team deemed her life not to be in danger. They were also told “this is a Catholic country”, and so Savita died.
There are countless of other cases and stories of Irish women who have been denied abortions or who have travelled to the UK for abortions.
Every year over 170,000 women leave the country for an abortion or order abortion pills online, risking their lives. Those who leave the country are mailed back the dead foetus.
These women face so much. Only a couple of decades ago, pregnant, unmarried woman were being locked up in laundries, where they were forced to work there for the rest of their lives away from a society that shamed and disowned them. Their babies were often given away or mistreated. They babies that didn’t survive were buried in unmarked graves, as were the woman.
Things like this could have been prevented by abortion. But my country doesn’t seem to care enough about the lives of women to help them and prevent this.
You don’t have to be Irish to reblog this. But please help spread the word and help us vote yes and change our laws for our women
The phrase “No amount of skill will protect you from the sheer luck of a chronic dumbass” popped into my head and if that aint a Big Mood™ i dunno what is
Also being a scientist pretty much gives you a free pass to be as eccentric as you want like you’ll be at a conference and it’s like “is that guy wearing socks and sandals and plaid pants???” “Ya but he was on the team that discovered gravitational waves let him be”
I once saw a highly-respected mineralogist take a slice of watermelon, put it between the two halves of a bagel, and eat it like a sandwich.
