There should a “mature discussion” about abortions rights now that the US Supreme Court has overturned Roe V Wade, a spokeswoman for Ireland’s Pro-Life Campaign has said.
Yesterday a majority of Supreme Court Justices overturned decades of precedent and concluded that there is no constitutional right to an abortion and that the issue should be decided in the nation’s state legislatures.
“I think that we have a mature discussion about why this has happened and we also try and find common ground,” Eilish Mulroy told Newstalk.
“Because even though this is a polarising issue we all support women with unplanned pregnancies and we need to find common ground no matter what side of the ideological debate we’re on.
“But [it] is certainly very, very welcome and remember the unborn child is an unseen child, it has no voice.
“The only voices we know are those people who… survived abortions or whose mothers changed their minds before they entered the clinic.
“So it’s a really important day for human rights and I think it’s very welcome and I would certainly like to see it have an impact around the world.”
After the judges had made their decision, US President Joe Biden held a press conference in which he denounced the ruling, describing it as a "sad day for the country".
"State laws banning abortion are automatically taking effect today,” he lamented.
“Jeopardising the health of millions of women, some without exceptions.
“So extreme that the women can be punished for protecting her health.
“So extreme that women and girls are forced to bear their rapist's child.”
Demonstrators march for more liberal Irish abortion laws in Dublin in September 2017. Picture by: REUTERS / Alamy Stock Photo / Clodagh Kilcoyne'Zero impact'
In Ireland Health Minister Stephen Donnelly told the Irish Examiner that the ruling would “have zero impact on the provision of healthcare services in Ireland.”
“Termination services are being expanded in Ireland, with four more hospitals providing services this year,” he continued.
“We are at the same time expanding a wide range of women’s health services, including fertility, menopause, endometriosis, perinatal mental health, eating disorder supports, gynaecology services and more.”
In 2018, following years of intense debate, 66.9% of voters in Ireland voted to repeal the 8th amendment and allow abortions to be carried out in Irish hospitals.
Main image: A woman walks past a mural in Dublin city centre ahead of the 2018 referendum on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. Picture by: Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie
