A YES vote will create a ‘compassionate system’
SPOKESPERSON FOR TOGETHER FOR YES SLIGO, COREY WHITE OUTLINES THE REASONS WHY HE FEELS THE VOTERS OF THE SLIGO/LEITRIM CONSTITUENCY SHOULD VOTE YES ON FRIDAY NEXT
The 8th amendment has been unique in its cruelty. Over the terrible 35 years of its existence the Irish people have been treated to a long list of cases detailing the horrors of those directly affected by it.
Since the last referendum in 1983 the reality of the 8th has been a shameful tale of women who at times of crises, were inflicted with further misery , sadness and harm.
This is not a historical reflection; it is still the reality for women in Ireland today.
We all know pregnancy can go wrong. Life can be complicated.
It isn’t black and white.
You cannot reduce those complex medical situations to two rigid sentences in a Constitution.
And that’s precisely what the 8th amendment does.
Imagine if your daughter, sister, niece or mother received the devastating news that their happy pregnancy involves a fatal foetal anomaly, you would want them to be able to access safe and legal healthcare in their own country.
You would want them to be cared for and supported at home in Ireland.
This is equally the case for women who become pregnant as a result of rape or are told their pregnancy could cause serious health problems.
The only way to change how Ireland treats women in these crisis situations is by voting YES on May 25 th.
We know the 8th Amendment harms women in Ireland and puts them at risk every single day.
We know thousands of women are having abortions every day without proper supervision.
We know we need to remove it in order to create a more compassionate, supportive environment for our daughters, wives, mothers, sisters, aunts and nieces.
The vast majority of obstetricians and gynaecologists support repealing the 8th Amendment.
The Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, their representative body, chaired by Dr. Peter Boylan.
On Saturday last, over 1,000 doctors gathered in Ireland to sign a declaration of their support to vote Yes on May 25 th.
This is not a vote on abortion. Abortion is already happening in Ireland.
This is backed up by facts on abortion pills and numbers of women travelling to the UK.
The reality is that today, and every single day, three women in Ireland will take an abortion pill without any medical supervision.
Most of them are mothers.
Doctors like Peter Boylan and Rhona Mahony have said this is dangerous and unsafe.
So this is a vote on whether we want to make abortion safe, regulated and provide care to those who need it.
A YES vote allows us to create a safer, compassionate, and regulated system that protects women, their partners and families.
A ‘No’ vote does nothing to improve the situation for those women and men who receive a diagnosis of fatal foetal anomaly or need to access abortion services due to a risk to health of the pregnant woman.
Right now the 8th amendment is failing to protect women.
On the 25 th of May, we can change that by voting Yes.