Radical Women solidarity with Irish feminists

From Seattle to Melbourne, Los Angeles to New York City, Radical Women socialist feminists call out solidarity support for Irish feminists’ organizing to overturn the 8th Amendment ban on abortion in Ireland’s law.

Radical Women commend the organizing by Irish feminists for reproductive justice. The women of Ireland have been living with this reactionary control of their reproductive lives for too long. This old law must stop its brutal hold on Irish women’s lives. Working women who cannot afford time and money to go out of Ireland to get the reproductive justice they need are those most hurt by these patriarchal laws.

As stated on the organizers’ Abortion Rights Campaign website, there are good reasons to overturn this law:

- The 8th Amendment equates the life of a woman to that of an embryo.

- The vast majority of women who want and need abortions are unable to access them in Ireland under interpretations of this law.

- Women have already died in Ireland having been denied life-saving abortion procedures.

- At least 150,000 women have travelled to other countries to procure abortions since 1980.

- Thousands of women are unable to travel for abortion services due to family, legal status, financial situation, or health.

- People who procure abortion within the country risk a 14 year jail term. Doctors can be jailed too.

- The majority of people in Ireland support much wider access to abortion than is permitted under the 8th Amendment.

- The life and health of a pregnant woman has a much greater value than our constitution places on it.

Through education, marching, organizing and voting, Irish women are saying “yes” to women’s reproductive justice.

Radical Women supports the referendum to overturn Amendment 8.