The 8th Debate

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Supporters at the March for Choice in Dublin in September 2012

It wasn’t discussed last night.

But.

Tonight at 7pm.

At the Michael O’Donnell theatre in the Dublin Institute of Technology Bolton Street.

DIT’s Law Society will host a debate on repealing the 8th amendment

Those speaking in favour will include Dr Peadar O’Grady, of Doctors for Choice; Vanessa O’Sullivan, of Abortion Rights Campaign; Gerry Edwards, of Terminations for Medical Reasons; and Ailbhe Smyth, of the Coalition to Repeal the Eighth Amendment.

Those speaking against will include Cora Sherlock, Deputy Chair of the Pro Life Campaign; Áine O’Connell, of Youth Defence; Helena O’Callaghan, of One Day More; and Sinead Slattery, of the Pro Life Campaign.

*There’ll be free pizza afterwards*

FOOD FIGHT!

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25 thoughts on “The 8th Debate

    1. meadowlark

      How many women will they restrict the choices of before the government (whoever they happen to be) sits up and makes a real and substantial change for the good of women’s health and personal freedom?

  1. Cup of tea anyone?

    At least both sides are mostly women and not an old boys club. Might be worth listening to. Hopefully arguments for the pro life side have nothing to do wit religion or morals and instead based on something scientific and measurable.

      1. Cup of tea anyone?

        well I will use an example from the pro choice side.
        This fetus has developed a medical condition. Here is the ultrasound/xray/dna analysis showing the issue. Here are the medical journals showing that the baby cannot live outside the womb with this condition. Here are the studies showing the adverse affects on the women resulting from carrying a baby to term while knowing it will never survive.

        Hence the fetus should be aborted now if that is what the woman feels is the best situation for her.

          1. fluffybiscuits

            At the end of the day the whole decision comes down to the woman. If a foetus cannot survive independent of the woman its hardly a human is it? The woman is the host for it.

          2. newsjustin

            That’s a flawed argument.

            There are plenty of humans who cannot survive on their own, they need the care of others. This doesn’t make them non-human.

          3. Daisy Chainsaw

            @newsjustin When humans exist only via tubes, with no prospect of survival without them, we turn off the life support.

        1. han solo's carbonite dream

          for sure tea,
          but few from the pro-life side would argue on that point.

          here is my issue , i;’m pro-life
          many people will use these extreme cases to debate the point abortion.
          they will also bring in rape/incest as other points.

          but the crux of the matter is those campaigning on this are pro-choice they want what is commonly referred to as abortion on demand . They are in fact being disingenuous arguing on heartbreaking and extreme example.

          Most abortions aren’t in these extreme categories…

          1. Dόn 'The Unstoppable Force' Pídgéόní

            It is extreme to have to give birth when you don’t want to, it is extreme to become a mother when you do not want to. Being raped and getting pregnant is just as extreme, as is being too poor to have it, or being pregnant to someone who beats you or yells at you or is horrible or a loser or not wanting to have a baby. This is something that every single woman thinks or has thought about – would I do it or wouldn’t I if I was in that situation?

            I want abortion on demand for Ireland because it’s what women deserve and because that is what you have already, just via the UK. Why are the “pro-life” side happy to turn a blind eye to this?

          2. MoyestWithExcitement

            “Most abortions aren’t in these extreme categories…”
            You can point to studies on this?

          3. Cup of tea anyone?

            “Most abortions aren’t in these extreme categories”
            This may or may not be the case. But even if there is one case like this out of a thousand, and the law of the land does not give a woman the right to choose, then the law needs to change.

          4. Nigel

            Irish law has tripped up so catastrophically on these edge cases, though, that giving the medical profession the scope to deal with them and giving women reassurance that they will be given proper medical care and offering rape and abuse victims the option to not carry the fetus of their rapist/abuser is the crazy battle we’re fighting now.

        2. pedeyw

          I was talking more about the scientific measurable arguments for the pro life side. I haven’t really heard any. I’m also not convinced it’s a purely “scientific and measurable” issue, so much as a moral one on either side.

          1. Nigel

            Fair enough, but there have been efforts to, eg, link abortions to breast cancer or insist there’s no such thing as FFAs. It’s quite difficult to grapple with the moral issues when the other stuff is being obfuscated.

  2. DubLoony

    Immediate task is to elect TDs who are willing to take this on.
    It needs to be a campaign issue. 10 days to go.

    1. Neilo

      @fluffy: Broadly agree. There’s certainly an angle of compassion for mother and ‘precious cargo’ here that can be overlooked in the race to moral certainty.

  3. Shane

    Just legalise abortions because it is the woman’s right to choose and if having taken the difficult decision the woman now has to make a journey to the uk as opposed to be able to simply stay at home.
    It’s not like the legal status stops it it just adds more stress and strain on an already difficult situation.
    If you have beliefs that go against abortion then the next time you find yourself pregnant just deal with it yourself in your own way.

  4. newsjustin

    Maybe it wasn’t discussed last night because it isn’t the “major issue on the doorsteps” that some pro-choice people hoped it would be.

    Also, shame on the pro-choice side of tonight’s debate for having only 2 women involved. The pro-life side have 4!**

    ** This is a joke, it’s the type of comment pro-choice people love making when a man appears as a pro-life speaker.

    1. Nigel

      Because the historical reality of issues around women’s health being debated and decided and oppressively enforced by men doesn’t make this an issue!

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