{"id":8332,"date":"2022-07-11T11:53:01","date_gmt":"2022-07-11T11:53:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=8332"},"modified":"2022-07-11T11:53:01","modified_gmt":"2022-07-11T11:53:01","slug":"what-irelands-past-can-tell-us-about-a-post-roe-america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lonecandle.com\/?p=8332","title":{"rendered":"What Ireland’s Past Can Tell Us About A Post-Roe America"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\n“Ireland\u2019s laws against abortion were some of the most restrictive in the world<\/a>.2<\/sup><\/a> From 1983 to 2018, \u201cthe right to life of the unborn\u201d was equal to the \u201cright to life of the mother<\/a>,\u201d and the state was empowered to \u201cdefend and vindicate that right.\u201d This was enshrined in the Irish Constitution\u2019s Eighth Amendment, which two-thirds of voters approved in a 1983 referendum. Furthermore, under Irish law, performing or obtaining an abortion was punishable by up to 14 years<\/a> in prison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Of course, this didn\u2019t stop abortions in Ireland. Abortions happened anyway, both abroad and underground. But the fact that they still happened \u2014 and that they were still in demand \u2014 didn\u2019t make the effort to legalize them any easier. It took another 35 years for abortion to become legal in Ireland \u2014 and a steady stream of activism and high-profile stories of suffering for abortion rights to expand.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It took almost a decade for the broader Irish public to become aware of the dire consequences faced by those who are denied abortions. In 1991, a 14-year-old girl was raped<\/a> by the father of one of her friends. The attorney general filed an injunction prohibiting her and her parents from traveling to England to seek an abortion because the law compelled the state to protect the life of the fetus. During that time, the girl was expressing suicidal thoughts, and a clinical psychologist testified in a court hearing that the girl was at risk of killing herself; ultimately, the Irish Supreme Court decided to set aside the initial court ruling, thus allowing the girl to get an abortion because there was a real threat of suicide<\/a>.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

…<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“If Ireland is any example, a lot more women in America will have to die or experience mental-health issues before attitudes toward abortion care dramatically shift.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
What Ireland’s Past Can Tell Us About A Post-Roe America<\/a><\/blockquote>