‘Unworkable provision’
‘TOGETHER FOR YES’ SLIGO LAUNCH AT THE GLASSHOUSE HOTEL
THE Sligo launch of ‘ Together For Yes’, took place last Thursday evening in the Glasshouse Hotel.
Together For Yes is the national civil society campaign to remove the 8th Amendment which currently recognizes the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn child.
Key speakers at the event included Irish academic and professor of Global Legal Studies at the University of Birmingham Fiona de Londras; Terminations for Medical Reasons’ Tracey Smith; Co-Director of Together for Yes Ailbhe Smyth; and Lorraine Kelly of Sligo Together for Yes.
Delivering the keynote address, Professor de Londras, said: “Almost 35 years ago we put an unnecessary, unworkable provision in the Constitution that tied the hands of the Oireachtas, of doctors, and of women.
“This is our chance to right that wrong, and to put decisions about reproductive life back where they belong: in our homes and in our doctors’ surgeries,” she said.
Lorraine Kelly of Sligo Together For Yes, said: “We are already working very hard to try secure a Yes vote here in Sligo in the upcoming referendum on the 25 th May 2018.
“Our Sligo Together For Yes group have been receiving an extremely positive response from the people we engage with through our stalls and our door to door canvassing.”
Co-Director of Together for Yes Ailbhe Smyth, also addressed the launch.
“The 8th Amendment harms women and it needs to be removed. We need to create a caring and compassionate environment for women in Ireland who are in crisis pregnancy situations, for example women who become pregnant as a result of rape.
“They should be allowed to make personal, private decisions about their health under the care of their own doctors, and with the support of their families. Women need care and compassion. Voting Yes will make this happen,” she added.