Coveney stance sheds light on poll nuances

WHILE yesterday’s intervention by Simon Coveney in the abortion debate was not entirely unexpected, it nonetheless serves to highlight an interesting and important political scenario.

For here we have the country’s Tánaiste stating his intention to publicly oppose legislation that is being put forward by his own Government. Nor is it even the case that such opposition is coming from a member of a smaller coalition partner; rather, Simon Coveney is adopting a conflicting view from within the ranks of his own governing party.

Let’s not forget, either, that this is the man who ran for the Fine Gael leadership against the politician who is now Taoiseach. Such a context will not be lost on all those involved, and it is, therefore, a highly unusual situation, but one that has raised important and challenging questions.

For what this ultimately reinforces is the fact that, if we give the power to the legislators, nobody can guarantee precisely what the outcome will be.

We are reminded, therefore, that in the upcoming referendum, it is not abortion per se that we are voting for, or against. What we are actually deciding is whether or not to give our representatives the democratic power that will allow them, as legislators, to vote on the issue of abortion. What is being sought, therefore, is the power to legislate on the issue.

Whatever your own personal view on the complex issue of abortion, and there are, as we know, sincere voices of conscience on both sides of the debate, either way it is crucial that people are crystal clear about the exact nature of their vote.

Anyone who believes that voting to repeal the Eighth Amendment will lead, automatically, to a specific kind of abortion regime is wrong. What it will do is give the body politic the power to legislate on our behalf. And the outcome of that simply cannot be foretold.