National Post (National Edition)
IRELAND’S LAST TABOO
COUNTRY HAS BACKED GAY MARRIAGE, DIVORCE AND ON FRIDAY IT VOTES ON THE ABORTION ISSUE
When it comes to the Roman Catholic Church, Judy Donnelly has been something of a rebel over the years. Like much of Ireland, she supported contraception, voted in a referendum to legalize divorce and, three years ago, backed samesex marriage.
That last vote was celebrated around the country and the world, placing Ireland, which elected its first gay prime minister last year, at the vanguard of what many called a social revolution.
But when it comes to the historic decision on legalizing abortion, which will be put to the nation Friday, Donnelly says she will vote no, as will enough of her countrymen and women, including lawmakers across the political divide, to throw the referendum result into doubt. Polls for the May 25 vote have narrowed so tightly in recent weeks that “yes” and “no” campaigners are not able to confidently predict a victory.
In recent days nearly 40,000 Irish citizens living abroad have been urged to return home to vote, in the hope of tipping the odds in favour of legalization.
“It’s just not the same,” said Donnelly, 46, who works in a pub in Carrigtwohill. “It’s about values and morals.”
Even if Ireland is becoming more culturally liberal in many respects, opposition to abortion is ingrained, as many people are still strongly against it on moral grounds.
Advocates of abortion rights cite several reasons for why attitudes have not changed: a history of female oppression; the church’s continuing grip over sexual education; and very private experiences around miscarriages, fetal deformities, adoption difficulties and spousal disagreements over whether to keep a baby.
At the same time, many Irish say, sex and sexual health remain somewhat taboo subjects. Often, the negative consequences of sexual activity, including infections or unplanned pregnancies, are seen through a moral lens rather than as health issues.
The Catholic Church opposes abortion, and some Mass-goers here said priests had told their congregations that they would not be able to receive communion if they voted yes in the referendum.
Ironically, it was a gay prime minister, Leo Varadkar, who called for this referendum that will essentially ask voters to repeal a 1983 amendment to the constitution that gives a fetus the same right to life as the mother and allow unrestricted terminations of pregnancies for up to 12 weeks.
Varadkar is framing much of his campaign around the idea that abortion is already a reality for Irish women. Traditionally, that’s meant travelling to the U.K. In recent years, though, it’s increasingly through buying abortion pills online, a practice that carries risks, according to Varadkar, a doctor before he turned to fulltime politics.
“If there is a no vote, I think it’s only a matter of time before someone hemorrhages or bleeds to death after taking these pills unregulated,” Varadkar told broadcaster RTE last week. “Let’s not wait for this to happen.”
His comments were instantly attacked by anti-abortion forces, in a campaign that has turned evermore bitter as polling day approaches.
“I know I come across as a hypocrite,” said Darren Haddock, 48, a cab driver who initially planned to vote in favour of abortion because he saw it as a woman’s right. But now, he said, “We’re talking about hurting a life.”
The referendum on same-sex marriage was different, he said. “The time was right for Ireland to come out of the Dark Ages, to break the shackles from the church, and it was a victory for people to stand up to it,” he said.
Donnelly, who recently divorced, voted for same-sex marriage because her sister-in-law was part of the first gay couple to get married in England.
When it came to abortion, she reflected on some of her other relatives who had miscarriages, having wanted children badly. “And then you have people who cross over to England to get an abortion,” she said, although she said there were some exceptions, as in the cases of rape or incest. “But just because you made a booboo doesn’t mean you get an abortion.”
While the church’s influence has fallen drastically in most spheres of Irish life, its hold on sexual education remains strong — the institution still controls most schools in the country.
Even young, internet-savvy Irish in their early 20s spoke about receiving more of a lesson in biology, and a cursory one at that, than instructions about sexual health and safety.
“When we were 16 we had two lads, monks, come in to talk about abstinence, and that one in 10 people get pregnant and that you can still get STDS from wearing condoms,” said Ben Collins, a 22-year-old college student, who plans to vote to legalize abortion. “It was basically fear. The Catholic influence is so big here, but you don’t even realize it.”
Deirdre Allinen, 32, recalled sitting in a classroom and having nuns wheel in a television before being a shown a grisly video about abortion. “Then we’d say the rosary and stand around praying,” she said. “The way it’s taught to us, it’s still in me. The curriculum is still hidden in our brains. It took me a long time to shake it off.”
As a result, Ireland has never had a conversation about sex being a positive thing, said Will St. Leger, an artist and an HIV activist who is on a crusade to reform sex education in schools.
“A lot of these issues around sexual health and reproductive rights all stem from a lack of information and shame,” he said. “That’s the biggest element — what we do with our bodies and with other people carries shame.”
Attitudes toward abortion shifted drastically after Savita Halappanavar died in 2012 of complications from a septic miscarriage. She had asked for a termination, but the hospital refused her request, initially judging that her life was not in danger. The baby was stillborn, and Halappanavar died a few days later.
For many voters, the referendum over abortion is, ultimately, a deeply private choice.
In 2015, after the same-sex marriage vote, “it was like Glastonbury; it was party central,” recalled Haddock. But this week, he said, “no matter who wins or loses, there’s not going to be a party.”