Jack Leahy ¦ Contributing Editor
Between 1500 and 2000 people attended a Dublin city abortion rights protest this evening, Gardaí have estimated.
The event at the Spire, O’Connell Street was organised by pro-choice groups Choice Ireland, Abortion Rights Campaign, Rally for Choice Ireland, ROSA, Real Productive Health, and Aims Ireland in response to the treatment of a migrant rape victim seeking a termination of pregnancy under the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2014.
Officers of Trinity College Dublin Students’ Union (TCDSU) and the Union of Students in Ireland (USI) were part of a small student contingent present at the event.
The turnout vastly exceeded the expectations of organisers, who expressed to The University Times before the event began that no more than 500 attendees were anticipated.
A series of speakers from advocacy groups addressed the crowd, the majority of whom expressed strong support for the repeal of the 8th amendment to the Irish constitution and urged attendees to organise on the issue of abortion at a number of upcoming rallies and conferences. Many speakers also called for a referendum on repealment to take place during the term of the current Fine Gael-Labour government.
The event organiser introduced the rally and thanked protesters across Ireland and in Auckland, Warsaw, London and Berlin for holding similar demonstrations.
Ailbhe Smith of Choice Ireland lamented the need to congregate ‘once again, in sadness and despair’ and rallied the crowd to ‘storm the Dáil’ and ‘do whatever it takes’ to achieve full choice for women in Ireland.
Tiernan Redmond of Doctors for Choice asserted that the majority of Irish people shared the anger of those assembled and warned that ‘they day of reckoning’ for the 8th amendment was approaching.
Sinead Redmond of AIMS Ireland deplored the ‘violation’ of the woman in question’s bodily autonomy and expressed anger that migrant women are being ‘disproportionately affected’ by abortion laws in Ireland.
A speaker from Rally for Choice Ireland, identified only as Suzanne, spoke passionately of her experiences of sexual assault and crisis pregnancy. Having been forced to avail of the services of online medical abortion service Women on Web, she said, she is liable to up to 14 years of prison ‘for making the decision that was right for [her]’.
The final speaker from an anti-racist network implored male figures of influence to cede their platform to female figures in the interest of liberation and insisted that the current prohibition on abortion in Ireland was both racist and misogynistic.
The event lasted for an hour and crowds dissipated after a short period of pro-choice chanting and song
Speaking to The University Times, USI Vice President for Equality & Citizenship Annie Hoey expressed the organisation’s support for the repeal of the 8th amendment:
‘USI supports the repeal of the 8th amendment because we believe that women should have the right to make choices for themselves about their own body and should have autonomy over their own body. We believe the only way to achieve this is to repeal the amendment. It’s obvious that the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act isn’t working and that women are suffering because of it’.
TCDSU President Domhnall McGlacken-Byrne spoke to cast aspersions on the notion that Ireland was divided over the issue, citing the strength of TCDSU’s pro-choice mandate, delivered by referendum in February, as an example:
‘This issue isn’t as divisive as it’s made out to be. In February, Trinity students delivered a clear and emphatic mandate in favour of urgent action on this issue.’
A further protest is planned for 2pm on saturday 23rd September.
