Emerging Contestations of Abortion Rights: New Discourses and Political Strategies at the Intersection of Rights, Health and Law

Abstract

"On May 25th 2018 in Ireland in the referendum called to repeal the 8th amendment of the Constitution, “Yes” won by an overwhelming majority. The 8th amendment article, which equates the value of the life of the woman with the life of the unborn, was introduced in 1983 to make the voluntary termination of pregnancy illegal under any circumstances, except in life-threatening cases for the woman. Ireland, along with Poland and Malta, is one of the European countries with the most restrictive abortion laws. For years, women residing on the island have been travelling abroad to abort illegally or have been illegally purchasing abortive pills online. The recent “Yes” victory in Ireland stands out against a fragmented landscape: that of the laws and access to abortion across Europe (De Zordo, Mishtal, Anton 2016)."