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ON 26 MAY 2018 the Eighth Amendment was repealed by referendum, paving the way for new abortion laws in Ireland.
Together for Yes campaigned for a Yes vote in the referendum. The group has since disbanded but many of its members are still campaigning.
Ailbhe Smyth, former director of Together for Yes, spoke to the TheJournal.ie about the focus of current campaigns.
Watch the video above for more details.
With reporting and video by Andrew Roberts.
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Continue campaigning for what??? Didn’t they get what they wanted???
@Francis Sally: as you will see from our dear neighbors, just because a referendum determines a result it doesn’t mean people stop fighting…
It’s funny how Pro-Choice advocates are probably cheering on Remainers but are against anyone challenging the result here.
@Mushy Peas: The result here has been challenged legally and the result was found to be sound and fair and also won by a considerable margin. Remainers have challenges the result because of the amount of outright lies they were sold as facts, and the marginal win, there’s a significant difference
@Dan: they’re angry the other side could lie more convincingly than them, that’s the crux of the issue really.
@Dan: and if Remain won would their lies have been challenged??
Many of the so called “lies” are also unraveling. The current UK Government has basically committed 390 million a week to the NHS, so exceeding the potential “promised” in the referendum.
@Mushy Peas: and vice versa.
@Francis Sally: Watch the video maybe?
@Francis Sally: As long as our sisters, nieces, wives, mothers, aunts, friends, work colleagues and all other Irish women are as close to 100% as possible to receiving the safest and most basic healthcare the campaign will never end. Just because hysterical and extremist religious groups such as Youth Defence, the Pro-Life Campaign and Iona Institute want to imprison ‘fallen’ women in homes and snatch their babies for sale like in the last century, doesn’t mean you’ll get your wish. You had your time with the 8th Amendment, and you caused brutal human suffering, no one to blame but yourselves.
@Francis Sally: You are right but dealing with abortionists is like dealing with Zombie Apocalypse. You need wooden stakes and silver bullets. Science and logic don’t work.
@Dave O: “Science and logic don’t work” LOL! Coming from the guy who follows the anti-science, anti-logic, fairytale believing extremists The Iona Institute, David Quinn, Declan Ganley and John McGuirk on Twitter!
@Orla Smith: Actually I draw my inspiration from Quantum Biology, Physics, Chemistry, Maths, Engineering, Philosophy, History and gentle people. And I am not so sad
@Orla Smith: as to need to check out who you follow.
@Dave O: Sure you do ‘Dave’! And I bet your imaginary bearded friend ‘invented’ all those things. Jesus wept.
@Orla Smith: Orla, it never ceases to amuse me how you bother to argue with the pro-birth/anti-abortion cohort, it’s a waste of brain cells imo.
Logic, reason, basic decency and compassion…primary school level science… it all eludes them.
I literally had someone claim that the fact that I’ve WORKED in OBGYN made me “no more qualified” to talk about the risks of pregnancy than the guy accusing us all of baby murder at that point I just decided for the sake of my sanity to call it a day. They lost, they need to get over it. But I do enjoy your comments…XD…
@Sarah: Thank you Sarah! They are my little helpless playthings :)
@Sarah: So you justify ending the life of a healthy unborn baby because the women had unprotected sex got pregnant and decides oh I don’t want this I’m getting rid. Your an absolute loon. Abortion should be illegal all over the world except in the case of rape, insist and if the mothers life is going to die because of the pregnancy.
@Sarah: a sweeping bigoted statement. Would you make that statement about any other group of people in society?
The same story twice in one day. Repealers doing another lap of honour for bringing in the right to terminate human life in the womb. Well done.
@Seamus Mac: The right for someone to do what they choose with their body you mean.
@Keith O’Reilly: choose what to do with another body you mean.
@Seamus Mac: thanks very much Séamus, I appreciate your praise.
@Seamus Mac: Share with us your own personal experiences of the traumatic pregnancies you had, and how they nearly ended your life?
@Orla Smith: just as soon as you share with us your own personal experiences of being aborted.
@Seamus Mac: Foetuses don’t have experiences, your consistent hatred for women is astounding.
@Orla Smith: Your hatred of healthy unborn life is astounding.
@Orla Smith: when is personhood conferred on a human being Orla? try to be specific.
Her first words are “We have to show solidarity in countries where Abortion is under attack” how messed up is that statement.
@Bass demon: I know, it’s messed up that there are women in the world who cannot access abortion.
@Bass demon: Why do you hate women so much?
@Orla Smith: Why do you hate babies so much???
@Bass demon: I don’t, babies aren’t aborted, back to Junior Infants for you.
She probably holds similar views to some of the looneys in certain states in the USA, i.e. unborn child is a parasite, abortion should be allowed at any stage before birth, etc. I’d love to know where her organisation gets it’s funding!
@Jack Simpson: I doubt she does, a highly educated and dignified woman. A lot of her opponents on the other hand hear voices in their head and have an imaginary friend whose blood they drink every Sunday. I’ll stick with Ailbhe.
@Orla Smith: Does your owner not switch you off at night Orla Bot?
@Jack Simpson: Aw! Isn’t that really funny! Enjoy prayer group on Sunday, trolling for Jesus.
As a man I have no right to tell any woman to do what they wish with their body..So I am minding my own business and getting on with my life.
@Marty from Sligo: Congratulations Marty, no one is asking you to tell any woman what to do with her body, we are however asking you to stand up for the other body she’s carrying, a human life with seperate dna and it’s own heartbeat. She shouldn’t be allowed to kill that life because it’s an inconvenience.
@Marty from Sligo: aren’t you great
@Marty from Sligo: has this sort of white knighting ever actually gotten you any, or still living in hope?
@Marty from Sligo: so you didn’t vote then?
@Flip off: Thanks ..I do my best.
@Rachel O’ Meara: how can you have a body in a body ? Surely it’s the woman’s body that sustains every thing that’s in her body ?? So therefore her right to choose.
@Rachel O’ Meara: Inconvenience? Are you women pregnant following a rape in that statement? Or are you creating a hierarchy of which women should be granted bodily autonomy based on what Rachel thinks?
@Nan: Yup a baby is just a floating head without a body, it just appears magically after birth. A woman has loads of choices, she could choose not to have sex, she could choose protection, she could choose to double up on protection, she could choose to take the morning after pill, she could choose lots of things I draw the line at choosing to kill human life, sorry that’s a step too far for me.
@The Risen: Ah the rape argument. Emotive and pulled out as a Trump card by those in favor of killing human life. Rape cases resulting in pregnancy are extremely rare. The main reason is a woman being medically treated after rape will be offered the morning after pill usually one with a five day coverage. Again I have no problem with women doing what they want with their own bodies it’s the killing of the baby I have an issue with. A baby conceived in violence is every bit as much the victim as the mother is. Killing the baby doesn’t make a woman ‘unraped’.
@Nan: are you joking?
@Rachel O’ Meara: tony is obsessed with that argument. Its his favourite.
@Rachel O’ Meara: I guess the irony of your statement is completely lost on you.
@The Risen: That’s you’re response? No debate? I guess you just lost your argument.
@Rachel O’ Meara: It’s not actually. Not every rape victim is in a position to avail of the morning after pill. In such circumstances, should she be forced to continue her pregnancy?
@Rachel O’ Meara: Oh and I guess the irony is lost on you.
@Rachel O’ Meara: So flippant about pregnancy as a result of rape, glad you find it funny. Speaking of ‘losing the argument’, you lost it heavily last year!
@Orla Smith: It’s actually laughable. Basically, she has no problem with women doing anything with their bodies that they want…..that she doesn’t have a problem with.
@The Risen: ‘Anti-Choice’ in a nutshell, all about religiously-indoctrinated control of other people.
@Rachel O’ Meara: according to the recent official statistics in Florida Rape was so small a component it was irrelevant. It was mainly down to convenience.
@Dave O: Florida is in the U.S.A., not Ireland. They are two different countries, not even on the same continent.
@Orla Smith: Actually the stats globally are fairly consistent. Less than 3 per cent of abortion relates to health or other reasons. 97 per cent or more are for social or convenience reasons. Check it out on Guttmachter or the UN sites. They are pro abortion but honest.
@Dave O: Oh, so I caught you out with your dishonesty, and now all of a sudden you’re changing your story. Lay off the Iona ‘Institute’ and Life ‘Institute’ quack press releases man.
@Orla Smith: I do my own research thank you very much. You can too. Not sure what you caught me out in. Physicists can’t lie. Surely you know that.
@The Risen: Sorry the reply is a bit late as I do have a life outside the comments section, unlike yourself and Orla who obviously have nothing better to do than sit there all night trying to score points. My point stands, pregnancy as the result of rape is extremely rare, so rare we don’t even have full statistics for it in Ireland. There are lots of children born as the result of rape world-wide and are loved by their mothers, should we like you consider those children as less than just because they were conceived in violence? Should we look at your family tree and judge you based on the crimes of your relatives? It’s a ridiculous concept and doesn’t hold up.
@Orla Smith: I’m not going to waste my time with you Orla. Your nasty comments not just here but also on other articles speak volumes.
I wonder will the IRA “fight on” when we have a united Ireland?
Abortion for any reason up to 12 weeks, up to 24 weeks for mental health and up to birth for an undisclosed list of disabilities is not enough for them.
Bunch of Heroes
Because they want abortion right up to labour, is that why???
@TamuMassif2019: Stick to the Bible stories, leave real life to us sane adults.
@Orla Smith: Your intolerance of religion has unfortunately diminished your ability to think rationally. You keep making random comments about the bible and religion on a thread about abortion. Have you ever read the bible?
@Alan: I have read the Torah, Bible and Qu’ran, the three Abrahamic religions. Religious fundamentalists are easily dismissed due to their submission to their cults. I see you follow David Quinn, Cora Sherlock, Declan Ganley and an account called ‘Glorifying God’ with the bio – “God is most glorified in us when we are satisfied in him (sic)”.
@Orla Smith: I don’t know of anyone else who has read all those. Interesting. Something going on there.
@Orla Smith: atheist fundamentalists can be dismissed just as easily.
This woman is a hero.
@Keith O’Reilly: at least Alabama woke up to this evil. Funny how states controlled by democrats are pushing for abortion up to and after birth. Do you agree with that??
@Keith O’Reilly: What about all the unborn women then?
@Francis Sally: Abortion after birth?
If there is to by United ireland it will be because of the larger Catholic birth rate over years in the north of Ireland that changed the demographics and republicans can’t take credit for that.
@Bobby wilson: and your point is what ?
@John Kelly: the point is the only way north can politically unite with the rest of the Island if the majority of its population democratically vote for it and it is only now possible because of the Catholic population is heading towards 50% . Catholic church view on birth control in the previous years that’s making it possible now that’s giving the Nationalist the numbers to make it happen other wise there would never be a united Ireland be cause unionists would never agreed to it ….
I think the percentage of people in the north who want a United Ireland is about 36%
If we were asked to pony up the 9 billion subsidy it receives from Uk I’d guess the number here would be lower
have your say