Let the choice be with you!

This is the badge that I got at the London Irish abortion rights campaign. As you might know, we don’t have access to legal abortion in Ireland. It’s because of the constitution. There was an amendment added to the constitution in 1983 which meant that it was not legal to acquire or receive abortions in Ireland unless the life of the mother is at risk and there is a lot of ambiguity because of this addition to the constitution and I think that it just doesn’t really help to keep women safe and as such, they don’t really have any choices in terms of acquiring an abortion in Ireland. So because of this, some women choose to travel. Well, they have to, if they want to have an abortion then they need to travel to the UK. I think this is wrong. Women who have the made the decision to end their pregnancy are often in already very stressful situations, experiencing a lot of hurt and fear and pain, and to make them go through the process of leaving the country where they are from, their support networks and their systems to do what they feel is in their best interests, or in their families best interests, is very wrong I feel. So this badge, states my view point and it says ‘Let the choice be with you.’ I think every women in Ireland and everywhere else should have choice over their own body and their own pregnancies and it’s not for me or anyone else to decide what’s best for them. I think that choice should be with them.