Gay people and abortion debate

Sir — I found it refreshing to read comments on the abortion debate made by Panti Bliss (‘Cool heat on the abortion debate’, Sunday Independent). Shortly after the marriage equality referendum, Panti expressed his own pro-choice views and urged other LGBT people to support repeal of the Eighth Amendment.

He did it in the context of gay people gaining the right to marry, urging them to return the favour and support women who wished to have an abortion. In the months after this, I became aware of a narrative in the gay community equating marriage equality with women’s right to choose. There didn’t appear to be any room for gay, pro-life people like myself. In fact when I publicly articulated my pro-life views during my general election campaign last year, some of the strongest criticism of my views came from fellow gay people. It seemed to me as if they felt I had betrayed the cause in some way. Last September, Gay Community News, the magazine which purportedly represents all members of the gay community, ran a front-page editorial supporting the repeal of the Eighth Amendment.

However, in speaking to some other gay friends, I knew I was not alone. I decided to set up a group called LGBT Pro Life Ireland (Twitter @lgbtprolifeirl). People began to follow the Twitter account and send me messages saying Panti Bliss or Gay Community News didn’t represent them.

Direct comparisons between the marriage equality referendum and any proposed referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment are meaningless, despite what pro-choice people say. If anything, pro-life people should take comfort from the Yes vote in the marriage equality referendum. That referendum was about equality; likewise any proposed abortion referendum will have equality at its core, the equal right to life of the unborn. That is why it is good for Panti Bliss to break the link between these two issues and acknowledge there are members of the gay community who are pro life, or, as he says in the article, “even a gay communist can be against terminations”. Tommy Roddy,

Galway