Irish urged to return to vote in abortion law referendum
are flocking back to the emerald isle – encouraged by the Hometovote campaign – to cast their vote in what many regard as a long overdue vote on women’s rights.
Some are returning from as far away as Kenya, Canada and Australia.
Erica, a 25-year-old from County Kildare who lives and works in Brussels, told The Daily Telegraph: ‘‘Voting Yes will allow more compassionate legislation so that women can choose what is right for them.
‘‘It’s not necessarily proabortion, it’s pro-choice. Having that option for a multitude of reasons is very important and women do not have that option,’’ said the PR professional. Bluithin Carroll, 21, who works in London, said she would vote Yes in support of her grandmother, who was forced to carry her pregnancy to term despite suffering from a fatal fetal abnormality.
‘‘She should not have had this experience, and over 50 years later, women of Ireland should not be having this experience. No Irish woman in the future should have this experience, no matter the circumstances of her pregnancy. ‘‘I’m travelling home to vote with the hope that my one journey from the UK to Ireland will help prevent the 3000 journeys taken every year by women travelling for abortion services abroad, because their own country turned them away,’’ she said.
Not everyone who is coming home plans to vote Yes, however. The pro-choice group Love Both, for example, is also calling on young conservative voters to return to Ireland and cast their vote for No.
‘‘I think babies deserve the right to life and deserve protection just like everybody else, and I don’t think this is the best thing for women, I think women deserve better than abortions,’’ said Rebecca, a pro-life voter flying back to Dublin from London, in a No campaign video.
The Catholic church has also strongly opposed repealing the eighth amendment. - Telegaph Group The United States has issued a health alert to Americans in China after reports of a ‘‘sonic attack’’ on one of its diplomatic staff.
The US State Department said a government employee suffered a mild traumatic brain injury after experiencing ‘‘abnormal’’ sensations of sound and pressure, similar to the wave of so-called ‘‘sonic attacks’’ on its diplomats in Cuba.
In a health alert issued yesterday, officials said an employee based in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou reported ‘‘subtle and vague but abnormal, sensations of sound and pressure’’.
‘‘The US government is taking