SENATOR BACIK CALLS FOR SUBMISSIONS TO CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLY
Today Senator Ivana Bacik renewed her call made at last night’s Women for Election event in the Royal Irish Academy, urging those present to make submission to the Citizens’ Assembly on the need to repeal the Eighth Amendment.
Senator Bacik said:
“This week, I made my own personal submission to the Citizens’ Assembly on the need to repeal the Eighth Amendment: ‘The Case for Repeal of the Eighth Amendment’. I argued that the Eighth Amendment should be repealed for the following reasons:
– Each year, thousands of women travel to England from Ireland to access terminations of pregnancy; 3,451 women made the journey in 2015 (63 per week; 9 per day). Over 160,000 Irish women have had abortions since the Eighth Amendment was passed in 1983. The Amendment has not prevented any abortions, but it has compounded the crisis for women in crisis pregnancy.
– While the Eighth Amendment remains in place, it is not effectively possible to legislate for abortion on any grounds other than a risk to a woman’s life. The current legal situation does not address the health needs of Irish women and has had the effect of putting women’ lives at risk.
– The language of the Eighth Amendment has given rise to many tragic human situations, and immense legal difficulties in a series of hard cases involving vulnerable women over the 33 years since its enactment.
– The Constitution is no place to regulate a complex and sensitive matter like abortion – the Eighth Amendment should be repealed in its entirety so that the Oireachtas may legislate to regulate the conditions under which abortion can legally be provided in Ireland.
“I am encouraging everyone who wants to see the Eighth Amendment repealed to join me in making a short personal submission to the Citizens’ Assembly. Submissions may be made by email to
http://www.citizensassembly.ie/en/Submissions/ by 5pm tomorrowFriday 16th December 2016. I believe it is very important that the voices of those calling for Repeal are heard clearly in the debate.
The full submission is accessible at
http://www.ivanabacik.com/blog/2016/12/14/the-case-for-repeal-of-the-eighth-amendment-my-sub/