Repeal the 8th March

[Cloeycat]

Did anyone go at the weekend? Was it a success and has there been any knock on effect this week?

I live in the UK so struggling to get a feel for what the feeling really is at home at the moment.

[HalfStar]

I didn't go but had friends who did. I live far from Dublin and tbh family weekend stuff held me back a bit from going (and I do feel guilty about it).
Seems to have been a big turnout. There is quite a momentum going now. My friends are all strongly pro-repealing/pro-choice but I'm not sure if this is just my bubble.
Would love to know what vibes other irish mnetters are getting around this.

[Amber76]

I'm pro choice but suspect a lot of people are pro life but not vocally so - all my in laws would vote no... think they would have sympathy in the case of fatal foetal cases or cases of rape but worry that if it is repealed that it would open the doors to 'abortion on demand'. I was sure that same sex marriage would get a yes vote but i'm not at all sure that irish people will repeal.

[HalfStar]

Amber I agree with you about the uncertainty around that. Long before the marriage referendum was even on the cards, I said that the Irish people would easily vote for same-sex marriage before abortion.

I will say though, that I do think that there is definitely some kind of groundswell of feeling going on towards repealing, and when I look around I think there must be hardly a family in Ireland that hasn't got a harrowing abortion story. I sometimes feel that many women - who might keep quiet about it in public - might, in the privacy of the voting booth, vote in favour of repealing?

But really, I just don't know.

[CommaStop]

I was there - there was a massive turnout despite rain and bus strike. Encouragingly loads of the crowd were families with babies in carriers/buggies etc. It was massive and very underreported on RTE and the like. I've been going to these for years and this was far and away the largest and loudest and it took over the city - people all over the place in repeal jumpers/tshirts etc. I know there are quiet pro-lifers but there are also many people out there who don't make a lot of noise about it but believe in the right to choose. I think what's really changing and changed as well is that women will not be silenced or shamed anymore and so many are coming out and telling their abortion stories and a lot of Irish people are good at compassion faced with the reality of the situation. There's a real postive vibe and momentum here at the moment, no doubt about it. Hilariously the anti-choice crew tried to suggest the protesters were all teenage trotskites which prompted a #knowyourrepealers hashtag with the actual protesters describing themselves - it was by turns sad, entertaining, touching but definitely showed the diversity of the choice movement.

[squoosh]

I will say though, that I do think that there is definitely some kind of groundswell of feeling going on towards repealing

I think so too. I'm not in Ireland but am avidly following all news. Even my parents (who I use as a barometer of your average church going, 70 something Irish couple) have said that they think women should be able to access abortion services in Ireland (although admittedly I doubt they support abortion on demand). I very much doubt they felt this way back in the early 80s.

It's just ridiculous that not one single Irish woman who is currently of child bearing age has ever had the chance to vote on this issue.

[squoosh]

I think what's really changing and changed as well is that women will not be silenced or shamed anymore and so many are coming out and telling their abortion stories and a lot of Irish people are good at compassion faced with the reality of the situation.

Absolutely. Real Irish women, ordinary Irish women, and high profile Irish women like Roisín Ingle. I really admire them for coming out and telling their story. They're no longer just shadowy statistics, they're real people who are much like people's neighbours, sisters, friends, doctors.

[Cloeycat]

Thanks for your responses, I am trying to keep an ear to ground to an extent but most of my friends live outside the country now too so it's hard to get a valid representation.

My biggest concern is I'm not sure what way my mother for example would vote, id like to think she is pro choice I'm not convinced, I should just ask next time I'm on to her.

Reading some of the comments sections on Journal.ie at the moment it still seems from there (limited audience I know) that a lot of people are still very pro life... I hate that term but can't think of a better one right know to describe the group.

[HalfStar]

Cloey, don't forget that most of those people commenting on the Journal etc are men. Often youngish men who have no first hand experience of what pregnancy, birth, and child rearing actually entails. You'll get comments from that demographic on all the popular Irish sites, boards, politics.ie and so on. Vastly fewer women use those boards to comment.

I feel sure that my parents would vote to repeal. They are a little younger than squoosh's - early 60s. Maybe they are not unusual? maybe that generation is taking cues from their daughters who refuse to put up with this shite any longer?