Together for Yes, but still much to get together

SIR,

This week sees the two-year anniversary of the landslide victory of the Together for Yes campaign. On May 26, 2018, we learned that by far the majority of Irish people believe that women and pregnant people should have the right to access abortion healthcare.

But two years on, we still don’t have the Safe Access Zones that Simon Harris promised us and, as a result, women are still subject to anti-choice abuse when trying to access healthcare. We still have a three-day wait period which has been shown to cause additional harm and conveys no benefits whatsoever. We still have large parts of the country without services as a result of refusal to provide care by certain practitioners. We still have wording in the legislation which criminalises healthcare providers and excludes trans and non-binary people, and migrant women and pregnant people still face additional barriers to accessing care.

Two years on, it’s important to reignite the conversations that led to better lives and health for so many, and to remember those who have been left behind and who still need us to speak for them,

Sincerely,

Kathy D’Arcy,

Chair Rebels4Choice (Cork branch)