Yes victory, by 68% according to exit polls and after defeat recognition by anti-abortion campaign, in friday 25th of may Ireland referendum, a well fight battle, implies the elimination of the constitucional disposition that forbids abortion in all circumstances except when the mother’s life is at risk. This disposition, known as the Eighth Amendment, made Irish abortion law one of the most restrictive ones in the world. Now this will be changed to a text that will allow Parliament to legislate about abortion and this way reform the existent law.A demand that the feminist movement have been fighting for years and now it will be implemented thanks to this Yes victory.

The Eighth Amendment was included in 1983 Irish Constitution and protected the “right of the unborn to live”, making legal abortion almost impossible in Ireland even in rape cases or serious foetus malformation. According to the UN Human Rights Committee and Amnesty International, eliminating this provision was necessary because right now every day, an average of 10 women and girls leave Ireland to access abortion in another country and it is estimated that three take imported pills to abort without medical advice. With the use of abortion pills in Ireland, they risk a criminal penalty, including up to 14 years in prison.

The Irish Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, belonging to the conservative Christian Democracy Fine Gael party, has promoted the holding of the referendum by considering the current law unjust, so it is expected that following the victory of the Yes, the Parliament will soon discuss a new legislation of terms, which could allow abortion in all circumstances during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy and, in exceptional cases, up to twenty-four weeks. There is already a draft proposal for this new law prepared by the Irish Citizen Assembly and in which feminist organizations and experts on women’s sexual and reproductive rights have been consulted. The Yes has also been supported by Sinn Féin, even by some sectors of the conservative Fiana Fail.

Podemos celebrates Irish society on this advance and considers it to be a milestone in women’s fight, who throughout the world are transforming and improving our life in common, making it juster and more democratic.


Sábado, 26 de mayo de 2018