Mary Lou hits out at No voters

MOST people understand that life is not black and white, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said yesterday and ‘absolutist’ people who want to leave no choice ‘should say that out loud’.

‘The only way we can help women facing crisis is by returning a Yes vote and removing the Eighth Amendment from the Constitution,’ Ms McDonald said.

‘I think it is important in this debate that we deal in fact. I have heard assertions from the No campaign and its spokespeople that the so-called hard cases – pregnancies as a result of rape or fatal foetal abnormality – can be dealt with under the current constitutional framework. This is untrue.

‘The very same people making these false assertions themselves campaigned against the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill in 2013. They talked of floodgates opening, abortion becoming widely available and were ultimately proved wrong, as they will be in this instance.’

The Eighth Amendment blocks any action to legislate in this or any other instances, she said.

‘There is only one way that we can help women in these circumstances and that is by voting Yes on Friday. To suggest otherwise is to be totally disingenuous. It is also important to remember that these are not exceptional or hard cases. They are real women facing devastating circumstances every day in every county.’

Meanwhile, opinion polls ‘will be up and down’, she said after a survey showed Sinn Féin in second place to Fine Gael, but ahead of Fianna Fáil. Sinn Féin’s Ard Fheis wil be held in Belfast on June 15 and 16. There will be a motion on proposed abortion legislation if the referendum is carried, she said.