International Women’s Day is on March 8th, and Irish citizens all over the country have plans to strike on this day as a part of the continued fight to get the Eighth Amendment of our constitution repealed. The Eighth Amendment outlines that it is illegal to get an abortion in Ireland and ultimately deprives women from making their own decisions about their own bodies.
I, like many students in UL, will be striking on this day so the government has no choice but to listen to our demands. Citizens all over the country will not rest until this disgusting restraint has been lifted from the women of Ireland.
In an attempt to sum up my feelings about this, here is an open letter to the Eighth Amendment of our constitution.
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Hello Sir,
I admit that I am privileged. Most of us are in Ireland. We all have our troubles and struggles but we are generally very blessed. You’re privileged too. You have unimaginable control over our country’s future. You sit among our nation’s leaders. You were inked and bonded by those who had power over every citizen’s fate. You live a privileged life.
So, let’s look at this from the point of view of those who are not as fortunate. The repealing of the Eighth Amendment is significant in all of our lives, including those whom you seem to so frequently overlook.
Some women are not financially stable enough to support themselves as it is. Some women do not have strong medical support available to them, and consequently do not have a decent mental or physical health standard. Some women are trying to make the best decision they can in a difficult situation.
Annually, around 68,000 women die at the hands of unsafe abortion methods such as illegal abortion pills. Does it make you sad that those Irish citizens you claim to care so much for, make up some of that figure? It is believed that many of those who survive these dangerous methods deal with lifelong health conditions as a result. Do you really think that these statistics are an acceptable consequence of a woman’s attempt to make the best decision for her well-being?
There are women who feel a need to avail of dodgy surgical backstreet abortions and are seriously risking their health. We can’t deprive anyone of the right to decide their own body’s faith, and we need to stop criminalizing women for wanting to have control of their life.
This is 2017 and Ireland should be a progressive and equal country, but denying a woman of her right to make her own medical decisions is a disgracefully backwards way of life. Currently, Ireland has no concrete law which allows a woman to terminate a pregnancy if the baby is likely to die or have a serious illness, nor if it is possible that the woman’s life would be in danger. This means that if one of these women cannot afford to go abroad to seek help, she has to carry the pregnancy to full term which results in unimaginable physical and mental damage for her. Look at this situation and tell me where if can see that equality you preach about providing for each of your citizens?
Over the years, many more young people have had to deal with an unexpected pregnancy. Many girls under the age of 17, which is the legal age of consent in Ireland, have found themselves pregnant and despite the fact that they were too young to give consent for sexual activity in the first place, they are still not given access to an abortion in their own country.
These young teenagers may not have the financial padding required for a sudden trip abroad for an abortion. They may not be in a position where they can tell their family or friends, making it impossible for them to leave the country unnoticed. In what way is it fair that these young girls, who aren’t even legally capable of consenting to any sexual act, are denied a choice as to whether or not they continue with a pregnancy? Why aren’t these Irish citizens a part of your rose-tinted idyllic Ireland? Do these women not get the right to live the healthiest way possible?
Again, Sir, you are privileged. Many Irish citizens are, and many of us aren’t, but all of us deserve to have full control over our bodies, our health and our future. Pregnancy is not an excuse for you to cease control of our bodies, and then quote one of your wrinkled yellowing pages to somehow back-up your idea that oppression is for the good of humanity.
I urge you to reconsider your stance, Sir, because we definitely will not be backing down.
Regards,
An Irish woman who deserves control over her own fricking uterus.
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There will be strike events going on all over the country on Wednesday March 8th so we can voice our need for the government to call a referendum in the next few months. If you want to take a stance and help repeal the Eighth Amendment, get involved in the Strike for Repeal in any way you can. In UL, Fem Soc are hosting a strike event. From 12:30pm to 1:30pm, we are gathering to form a human chain across the Living Bridge in solidarity with all the people forced to travel “across the water” to the UK or other countries for abortions, as well as those who were not able to do so. Please come along if you can, and take a stand against the inequality that still prevails in our country.