'Shrouded in shame': the young women on either side of Ireland's abortion debate

Anti-abortion and pro-choice activists are gearing up for a hard-fought referendum in which the youth vote could prove key

An average of 11 women travel each day from Ireland to have an abortion in England and Wales, according to the most recent Department of Health data. That adds up to more than 200,000 journeys since 1983, when the passing of the Eighth Amendment made abortions illegal in the Republic of Ireland.

In Northern Ireland, meanwhile, a ban has always been in force – and the potential punishment for contravening it is more severe. “It’s much more difficult even to have a conversation about abortion in Belfast,” says Jess Brien, a 25-year-old pro-choice campaigner who lives in Northern Ireland’s capital, “because the maximum sentence for having one here is life imprisonment.”

Related: Irish referendum on abortion reform to be held by end of May

People judge you for being pro-choice. There’s no support at all if you go through an abortion – you feel humiliated

Abortion is never going to create an ideal feminist society, because an act of violence is never empowering

Even if you don’t have a personal experience, you should still care. This is about how women are treated in our society

Related: The Inequality Project: the Guardian's in-depth look at our unequal world

Continue reading... January 30, 2018 at 03:09PM