Viewpoints exchanged ahead of referendum
VETERAN journalist and broadcaster Vincent Browne was in town last week to campaign for a ‘Yes’ vote in the upcoming referendum alongside TDs Mick Wallace and Clare Daly. There was a big attendance at the IFA Centre with guest speakers including Emma Shannon of TFMR (Terminations for Medical Reasons) and Dr Caitriona Logan of Doctors for Choice. Also present at the meeting was local parish priest Fr Billy Swan who discussed his own views with Browne, Wallace and Daly.
‘We’re not asking whether we should have abortion or no abortion because we already have abortion,’ Deputy Wallace said, addressing the crowd. ‘ The debate is about whether we have legal abortion in Ireland or whether people are forced to travel and being able to find pills on the Internet. You have people who are engaging in unsafe abortion.’
Vincent Browne spoke about how he had initially been against abortion, but, having listened to women, he now believes that it is unfair not to allow them to choose. ‘Society is cruel,’ he said. ‘Society would oblige us to continue the sustenance irrespective of the effect on ourselves. That women are forced under pain of law to be in that situation, is just unfair.’
Speaking from the floor, Fr Swan said he was impressed with the honest of the speakers, particularly Emma Shannon. He said that if the proposed legislation addressed what people like Emma had been through, it would create a moral dilemma.
‘ The real difficulty I still have if we change is it will have a significant change in our culture in how life is valued,’ he said.
Deputy Daly said that she agreed with many of the points that Fr Swan made, but disagreed with his description of a yes vote as a ‘slippery slope’, pointing out that this was not the case in other countries. ‘It’s about educating people,’ she said.
The meeting provided a great platform for the exchanging of views from both sides, as people make their minds up before hitting the polling stations this Friday on what has been an extremely divisive topic.