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TAOISEACH ENDA KENNY spoke of his “struggle” with the abortion issue in one of his final media appearances of the 2016 election campaign.
In an otherwise unremarkable interview (he stressed the need to ‘keep the recovery going’ within a few seconds of beginning his first answer) the Taoiseach took several questions on the Eighth Amendment – even insisting on speaking about the issue as presenter Mark Cagney attempted to move on to other topics.
The issue hasn’t featured strongly in the campaign to date – and only one question on the contentious amendment was asked over the three televised leaders’ debates.
Kenny, reiterating his current stance on the issue, insisted we couldn’t “just change” the amendment, which was passed by referendum in 1983 and enshrines the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn in the Constitution.
He said that Fine Gael, if re-elected to government, would set up a forum similar to the Constitutional Convention to consider the matter. An all-party committee would also examine expert advice, in a parallel measure, he said – adding that the process needed to be de-politicised.
Using more emotive language, he said he had listened very carefully to the “courageous people” who had spoken of their experiences with unborn children.
“I actually struggle with this myself,” he added.
But as Cagney attempted to move on to the next issue, he continued talking about the Eighth, answering follow-up questions from co-host Sinead Desmond.
He said he had been “moved by the tears of the Magdalen women” – and that he had also been moved by the “examples given to me in respect of marriage equality”.
He added:
Some of the experiences of women who have come forward here, who’ve been very courageous… It is a profound issue and it’s not one to be sort of spoken of glibly in politics to say ‘let’s have a referendum’.
Speaking last month, Kenny denied there was a rift in the party on the issue. In response to Leo Varadkar’s remarks that abortion should be allowed if there is significant risk to a woman’s long-term physical health and not just in cases of fatal foetal abnormality, he said the health minister was entitled to his opinion on the subject.
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We need a system whereby, a sizeable number of the population feeling strongly about an Issue can get a referendum called
Is there not some EU rule in place for that. I thought there was something where you get 100,000 signatures to call a referendum.
I surprised that the man can dress himself.
Unborn babies are humans too.
Why do the same people who plead for abortions, do not want to have anything to do with training to become abortionists?
Who wants their children to grow up to become an abortionist?
How would they fit in socially?
“What do you do for a living”?
“Ohh I’m an abortionist”
“Ohh lovely”
“You must love your job”
Why is abortion generally a lower/middle class procedure?
there isn’t a snowballs chance in hell of Kenny or martin if elected will touch this with a barge pole, they prefer to see women find alternative arrangements in foreign countries so a small % of voters can sleep at night
spineless and cynical political posturing
“Why is abortion generally a lower/middle class procedure?”
Can you provide any reasons for this,Johnny ?
Now come to thing of it Its actually a really rewarding job, respect to the people in this profession! Saves thousands of woman physically giving birth to still birth babies whom were destined to die in the womb, saves thousands from mental a physical health problems, especially those in cases of rape, high risk pregnancies, unplanned. Saves many from poverty stricken lives. So over all who wouldn’t want to get into this rewarding profession?
1 mill signatures are needed from several eu countries. Re: eu issue
John actually abortions are performed by medical doctors, so to answer your questions…
1. Many people want to become doctors, most medical schools have many more applicants than places.
2. Quite a few parents want their children to grow up to become doctors.
3. Doctors fit quite well into society.
4. Abortion is not generally a lower/middle class procedure, in fact anyone in Ireland needing one, needs to have the means to allow them travel for the procedure.
@ Johneary.. Repealing the 8th is not going to make abortion freely available in Ireland. Even if it did you don’t have to actually have one… John. Also do you call dentists extractionists? There is no such thing as an abortionist. They are highly trained doctors and deserve a bit more respect.
Well said. If abortion in certain circumstances was allowed, it doesn’t mean that if the women has
Problems eg: foetal abnormality or rape she doesn’t have to have an abortion if her beliefs are against
It, nor would she be persuaded by doctors to have one. FG and FF as usual are a fraid of the Church.
Other RC countries in Europe have abortion in certain circumstances. In spite of everything, Ireland is
Not a fully secular state.
Or maybe we need a media that actually reflects what the general population thinks rather than what a media caball thinks?
he struggles with himself,,,ffs think of the struggle you put us through last five years
We should reinstate article 48 of our constitution. .which was removed without a referendum
John Neary you are one gobsh#te . Abortion a lower middle class procedure. Go and sheeite.
The majority of abortions are lifestyle abortions.
The creator of the UK’s abortion bill agrees that.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2004/jul/06/society.health
Johnny lad – that article is bloody eight years old !! And what I read of it,he is criticising your beloved Catholic Church ..Jeez man,you can do much better than this lad :)
He can’t he has two advisers so he knows which sock goes on which foot.
Sarah McInerny of the Irish Times put it best the other night after the leaders debate when Kenny (as he always does) answered questions he wasn’t asked and didn’t answer questions he was asked.
She said he is like the person in the Leaving Cert who learned off 4 poets, but none of them came up, but he went ahead and wrote about those 4 poets anyway.
Spin doctors and speech writers…..who’s really running the country?
That’s the fault of the interviewers. Kenny doesn’t do interviews in 5 years. When he finally does, no-one tackles him. Our media is unfit for purpose.
I’d say Enda struggles with his shoe laces.
He definitely struggles with large plant pots and steps.
The mouse in his head must be running around in circles..
Enda struggles with it. The UN and Amnesty International struggle to believe a country would be barbaric enough to retain it. Enda Kenny is a right-wing conservative Catholic borne out of the Vatican-fearing traditions of 1950′s Ireland.
Equality is barbaric? I think I’ve heard it all now.
The equality in this country is barbaric
What “equality” are you talking about exactly?
@Niall Waters: Well said!
97% of U.K. abortions are for social reasons – that’s what most civilized people would call barbaric….
You’ve sneakef your way through 40 years in politics on taxpayers money and a family seat handed down and now you’re being exposed for the gombeen you really are. You survived on a combination of inheritance, luck and cunning moves, like a lot of our so called leaders. The best thing for Ireland would be to see the end of the lot of ya.
” In response to Leo Varadkar’s remarks that abortion should be allowed if there is significant risk to a woman’s long-term physical health and not just in cases of fatal foetal abnormality, he said the health minister was entitled to his opinion on the subject.”
A woman’s rights should always trump the rights of a fetus ..
McF Kevin,
And under existing practice, the woman’s life DOES trump the foetus. What is the best way to ensure the health of the foetus… it is to ensure that the expectant mother is healthy.
I know many people won’t be happy with this contribution… perhaps before you red-thumb me, just think about what I have written above.
Why does “a woman’s rights always trump the rights of a fetus”?
I don’t care about the health of another persons fetus ,if that woman doesn’t want it inside of her .
Hope that helps any misunderstanding that you may have had !
https://www.princeton.edu/~prolife/articles/embryoquotes2.html
No way am I reading that pile of crap! But thanks all the same .
Mc you’ve just shown that you’re a dope.
The mans an imbecile who on earth could vote him in as head of the country , the laughing stock of the EU
Blame mayo
In fairness, the laughing stock of the EU is David Cameron. But Enda isn’t too far behind, I agree.
Whinges
“The laughing stock of the EU” I really hate comments like this. You seem to be under the impression that the EU is looking at everything we do. Id imagine the vast majority of EU citizens either don’t know nor don’t care we have an election tomorrow. And presumably they all harbour enough grievances about their own governments to give a shit what happens here. You need to get out more.
About as equal as George bush or Donald trump holding power a laughing stock and embarrassment
No the world is looking !
Presumptions make an ass out of you and me !
None of them struggle with it . If they did they wouldn’t close their eyes and ears to 1000s of women travel each year to the UK to get one . But hey its Ireland we have a history of pretending things are not happening like the women sent to the nuns because they didn’t fit in with Catholic Irish society. Or the abuse by priests on children . It’s about time we get a government who pops their heads out of the sand and stop exporting our problems and see look for solutions. Actions speak louder than words . Stop talking and take action. They talked about this when my parents were having children now I’m grown up have my own child are they still going to be debating this when my child is grown up .
Enda, – all promises again, trying to keep opposing sides content until after the election. Of course we all know what he’ll do if he gets in again, – 2 fingers to everyone.
I’d say he struggles with lots of things, he’s not the cleverest.
Here Enda jog on you weak see you next tuesday, your a joke to Ireland and mankind….
Your weak and spinless like everyone else in your party…Carry on
What is there to struggle with? You either believe in equality and self-determination for all citizens or you don’t. The UN & Amnesty are clear on this: Ireland treats its Women as lesser in the eyes of the law. What side are you on?
http://trickstersworld.com/2016/02/19/no-country-for-young-women/
If only we had a courageous government. Running away from all tough issues, covering up scandals seems to be what they do. Pretend we don’t have an issue instead of dealing with it. Our justice system is a farce. Government have no backbone, and seem to have very little expertise despite the huge money paid to advisers etc.
The only time Enda Kenny and the word abortion should be used in conjunction is…
Ireland: “sure don’t we let our women read and travel, aren’t they grand?” The 8th amendment doesn’t so much prevent abortion as export the problem and increases the burden on those with lower incomes. Aren’t we lucky we have a modern country as our neighbour to look after our women for us? What a wonderful theocracy we live in!!!
What credibility has he left? In 40 years he has do nothing who cares if he’s “moved” he has done nothing. The enquiry into mother and baby homes is held in secret to protect church and state officials who allowed abuse. We know everything Lord O’Reilly touches is destined to fail. He walked away for health washing his hands of this own failure pushing it onto Leo who “kept the crisis going”. you can run a country on peanuts and your can’t lead a nation while hiding.
Terrible interview. Very weak. Too much fumbling. I suppose it’s probably because by now he has realized no matter what happens tomorrow, FG will be destroyed. Either kicked out of Government after losing 15 to 20 seats, or being forced into the “kiss of death” coalition of FG/FF that won’t last a year and will be annihilated by electorate after the inevitable string of disasters and scandals during its time.
Honestly Without his His Million Pound Death Squad wrapped around him. He’s a complete Buffoon
excellent interview, well done enda
I must have listened to a different one.
Enda is a W⚓!
He just repeats the same shite to every question he’s asked . Think he needs to be retrained . Why do plasters, plumbers and Carpenters need retraining ???? I can hear the wind whistling through his head ….
Powerabbey, like Enda, your all over the place. I commented on today’s interview only, I never even vaguely mentioned SF/or Gerry Adams, and I commented on exclusively FG future limited nightmare options. I very HIGHLY recommend you see a psychiatric specialist on your extremely unhealthy obsession with Gerry Adams. It’s beyond stalkers obsession at this point.
Spot on mark! He was ask would this be his last election, he’s starts with he’s been in it for 40yrs and then goes straight into tomorrow vote stability.. Gamble.. Recovery nonsense speech.
‘The issue hasn’t featured strongly in the campaign to date – ‘
Well Ireland’s liberal media have been doing their best to try and make it an issue. No one, apart from some abortion ideologues and their media buddies, see this as an election issue.
How true about Enda Kenny ‘struggling with this issue’ – he has struggled with every issue in this election. If even a 5% Labour party manage to get back in to government with Kenny you can be sure they’ll be demanding that FG jump to their tune on abortion. Traditional FG voters – a vote for Fine gael is really a vote for Labour’s abortion policy. Vote for a party that implements its own policies.
Enda struggles with most things….
Why is the 8th ammendment such a big deal? Dont really see the need for change myself
When you magically grow a uterus and have to deal with your reproductive rights being controlled by some old man who knows more about football than women’s rights then maybe you’ll see a change.
The 8th amendment is such a big deal because it’s for WOMEN’S RIGHTS and shouldn’t be decided by a bunch of ~mostly~ middle aged men who don’t want to upset the catholic church and haven’t got a clue how it feels. Have they been told that the life inside of them will die or will have little no life at all? Have they been told that they’re carrying their rapist’s child and that they must carry it to term even though it’s causing their mental health to decline? Have they been told that they might die because of the child they’re carrying? No? Didn’t think so.
This is why it’s important. We call ourselves a modern country and yet women can face fourteen years in prison for having an abortion. How many years will a rapist face in prison? Usually it’s 5-7 years, and that’s if he’s convicted. How many years will the family of the women who dies because of her pregnancy mourn because she would’ve survived if she had had an abortion? How many years will a mother have to mourn the loss of a child because it entered the world stillborn?
We send our mothers, sisters, aunts, girlfriends, wives and daughters to a different country because ”’modern”’ Ireland can’t deal with the shame of abortions. It’s true. I get it — we’re a catholic country. We can never stray too far from our beliefs but the government have more respect for the church then they do for the women of Ireland. For example, the Magdalene Laundries, the child abuse scandals, the dead babies, the adoptions. The government stayed quiet on them because they wanted to protect the church. But the women of Ireland? Nah, leave them. Sure we’re only walking incubators anyway.
And before someone says something smart like ‘Abortion isn’t allowed in the bible!!1!’ neither is divorce but hey, I see your third marriage is going just great :))))
See this is the big lie in all this. ” We send our aunts etc abroad…” Who is we? Nobody is sending anyone anywhere. It’s a free choice taken by the woman to abort her child by going abroad. Nobody forces this.
I’d say that Edna “struggles with himself” most of the time – with his wang in his hand!
Is there anything that he doesn’t struggle with ? Now a half assed effort on women’s rights.
And how many of the FG/LAB clowns that will be voted out ,will somehow manage to be appointed to the seanad,or some other of the multitude of quangos?..can’t be doing without the gravy…
Enda Kenny, fg,promises,fool me once,bye.
Terrible interview. Very weak. Does not understand policies. No detail. That is each and every interview in which Gerry participated.
He has a terrible memory – can’t even remember that he was a leader in the IRA.
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