Repeal the 8th

Abortion has existed for as long as womankind has existed. My grandmother was a nurse and she told my mother about various methods used to end unwanted pregnancies, way back in the 1920's & 30's. All illegal then, of course.

All that enshrining abortion in law does is change it from illegal to legal.

I wonder how accessible and available contraception for women is in Ireland today?

It seems sad now that every form of contraception and advice is freely available in England the demand for abortion appears to have risen, particularly since having a child without marriage is not the problem it was when most of us were young.

That said, I hope abortion will be legalised in Ireland.

Anniebach just noticed your post about Afghanistan not being catholic...no but there are countless catholic countries accross the world especially in Sth America who might be encouraged to fight against unjust decision when they need/want an abortion.Countries where women end up in prison when its even suspected they've had an abortion

ab you have made comments about convenience abortions - would you vote Yes today?

Faced with a pregnancy and no idea who is to pay for everything and where to live is terrible for a any young women. In the 60s you could go to a home where you scrubbed floors on your hands an knees. Why on earth that? Wasn't there mop you could have used?

To find the answers to these questions when there is only 13 weeks to go and where a boyfriend - who might come round to it later, is frightend at how quickly everything has to be decided. I hope that they agree to abortions and spend bit of money and thought on how to finance a mother and baby should the pregnancy go ahead .

When abortion is legal then plans and schemes should be put in place to see that these women can get on with their lives. Hopefully real help and no accusations.
Not too much to expect from a Christian country.

It's not as easy as all that to have an abortion. It involves several trips to doctors/clinics including the possibility of the end of the pregnancy occurring in public.

I suspect that some women who do have so-called 'convenience' and/or repeated abortions have an awful lot of other issues going on in their lives as well, when an unplanned pregnancy could be the last straw.

I have never said I am against abortion, I am able to discuss it calmly.

No, tragic cases are being used to show the very real suffering which results from the 8th but also pro choice supporters believe in exactly that -choice and bodily autonomy. The No camp do not care about how tragic the circumstances are. You ab I think have made it clear that healthy foetuses should not be aborted for reasons of eg so called ‘convenience’ so you do not accept a woman’s right to choose - which way would you vote today? Accept the suffering as a price worth paying?

But how do you know that those pregnancies are just inconvenient to women? How do you know it wouldn't have a detrimental affect to their wellbeing, their mental health? If they get pregnant and realise that it may lead to them being stuck in an abusive relationship? An abortion is a distressing procedure, women have to have counselling to make sure they are making the right decision, it's not just case of going into a doctors surgery and saying 'I want an abortion'. There are so many reasons women can need an abortion.

It's fine to be against abortion, for yourself, thats your opinion. But abortion should be made legal so each woman can make the right choice for her.

If tragic cases are being used to support abortion on demand then inconvenient pregnancies should be used to support tightening of the abortion practices.

If for abortions regardless of reasons then this should be simply - a woman’s right, not use tragic cases for this

What a pity that we are not perfect - that we make mistakes, that we have a contraceptive fail, that we are sometimes irresponsible. And that some of you think that the punishment should be an enforced pregnancy - because that’s what you’re saying.except of course the well off and priveleged would get their nice safe abortions anyway and the poorer would be back to the back street. So really it’s a misogyny aimed at poor women - how loving, how caring, how compassionate, how hypocritical.

Love the use of the word ‘convenience’ and a ’whim’ to criticise the existence of abortion. Newmom we’re banging our heads against a misogynistic judgemental brick wall on here - women who would be absolutely fine to see a woman strapped down to a bed forced to give birth at the end of a pregnancy she hadn’t wanted. Handmaid’s Tale anyone.? As well as the Savita case ,there was patient X made pregnant at the age of 14 after rape by a family ‘friend’ who it turned out had been regularly abusing her. She was the case where they tried to stop her going to England for an abortion - it did however lead to a change in the law. How could anyone hate a raped 14 year old so much? There’s also medical evidence that real physical damage can be done through pregnancy and birth when the mother is very young.

Daddima, I am bothered by such reasons to. Abortion on demand was not included when abortion was made legal .

I accept there are cases when abortions should be carried out, but on demand takes away all responsibility, not convenient at this point in my career ? Contraception , morning after pill.

No, but there was a very judgemental tone to your post. What people do with their own body and sex life is up to them. The morning after pill is a form of contraception (which isn't given on the NHS and has a cost to obtain it) and anyone taking it is surely taking responsibility to ensure they don't get pregnant.

Also, what extreme circumstances do you propose then?
Currently in Ireland abortion is only legal if a mothers life is at serious risk.
So what about if the baby is going to die shortly after birth? Should the mother be forced to carry that baby to full term and give birth, knowing the baby won't live? Is that not cruel?!
What about in the cases of women who have been raped? In cases of incest? Are they extreme enough?
What about a woman who finds out the baby has a chromosomal abnormality? Should she be allowed a termination? Or a woman who gets pregnant accidentally with a history of post natal depression, putting her mental health and the safety of her current children at risk. Are they considered extreme enough? It's difficult with such a complicated issue to know when, or where, the line should be drawn. That's why I believe it should be the woman's choice, only she knows the true effect it will have on her.

New mom
No one has mentioned the morning after pill being the same as an abortion.

The morning after pill is nothing like an abortion. It simply prevents you from getting pregnant. Surely if you are against abortion so strongly then you should support women taking the morning after pill to prevent ever needing an abortion!

I have used the morning after pill after a contraception failure in a long term relationship. We weren't ready for a child, so I took the morning after pill to prevent becoming pregnant. Nothing like an abortion. Also it's extremely useful in the case of women who have been raped as it prevents pregnancy.

Encouraging women to take the morning after pill following unprotected sex, and making the morning after pill more easily available, could drastically reduce the number of abortions in the long run.

I agree this is indeed a conundrum. I find it strange that it’s always about ‘ what women choose to do with their bodies’, and no mention is made of the child. I do know people who have had terminations, one a young girl who was going to university, and another two who didn’t want to jeopardise career prospects. All three managed it very easily, two medical practitioners readily agreeing that to continue with the pregnancy would pose a ‘ significant and permanent’ risk to the health of the mother. These are the situations which worry me.

inconvenient for many reasons and most valid...if the mother isn't ready to have a child should she be forced to? Should she be tied to a violent partner for life because she's pregnant.Should she give up on her life or career path because her contraception failed ? Lots of reasons ,lots of decisions made for reasons that the MOTHER believes is right for her.Nobody elses business !!

In bed

Changes in the law. Make abortion available to extreme cases. Not so much the supply and demand to every request.
Morning after pill? How about the "think about it before they go out for the night pill". Or the "I musnt end up on bed with a stranger tonight pill".

Yes Annie. I agree with you. Exactly why there should be changes.

No mention of women who have abortions because it would be inconvenient

That case was fairly recent, in Ireland.

Those who oppose abortion, have you heard about the case of Savita Halappanavar? It's quite prominent in the debate at the moment, but in case you haven't, Savita was 17 weeks pregnant when she began to miscarry. She asked for a termination as miscarriage was inevitable. She was refused one and then developed a septic miscarriage and died. In her case surely an abortion was the right course of action? If abortion was legal at the time, Savita would still be alive.