Men do have a say, for good or ill
Sir — As a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment gets closer, the role of men in this troubled debate needs to be examined. Should men be heard during the campaign? And do men have rights when it comes to abortions?
The first question is easy to answer. As there are no mechanisms to exclude men from the debate, or to stop them from having and voicing their opinions, nor indeed to prevent them from casting their votes, there is little point in wishing they would stay quiet on a biological process they will never experience. Men will play prominent roles on both sides of the argument. And they will shout their opinions for all to hear. This letter being evidence of same.
The second question is a bit more difficult to answer. Many men, genuine men, good men, regard fatherhood to begin for them once they are told of the pregnancy they are responsible for. This attachment is, in most cases, a wonderfully positive emotion, with obvious benefits for all concerned.
In some cases, however, the pregnant woman may decide an abortion is the best option for her, despite the potential father’s desire for her to continue with the pregnancy. At present, the pregnant woman is free to travel outside this jurisdiction to access abortion services. This may grieve some men, but this is the constitutional reality.
If the Eighth Amendment is struck from our Constitution, nothing is altered in this regard. Men now, and men in a postEighth Amendment Ireland, simply do not have the legal capacity to insist a woman continues with her pregnancy.
While the retention or deletion of the Eighth has no legal impact on men, the amendment does grant some men power, outside of the law, to coerce women to continue with a pregnancy. Poorer women, financially dependent women, women in abusive relationships and women living in isolated parts of the country are more vulnerable to having their right to travel for an abortion severely curtailed.
Removing the Eighth Amendment may not help all women in such straitened circumstances, but it will certainly aid a portion of them to end an unwanted and possibly dangerous pregnancy.
This is the question men have to answer when considering their vote on the Eighth Amendment. Retain the status quo where good men have no say, but bad men do. Or remove the Eighth and good men will continue to have no say but many bad men will also lose the power to coerce. Paul WS Bowler, Co Kerry