Last night.
On the steps of the Tralee Courthouse in Kerry.
Kerry For Choice writes:
Kerry for Choice, in collaboration with Kerry Knicker Collective, placed 12 pumpkins and 56 candles on the Tralee Courthouse steps to highlight the 12 Irish women a day and 56 Kerry women in 2015 who were forced to travel to England to access abortion services.
At this time of year, we light candles and carve pumpkins to keep away the ghosts and ghouls of Halloween in the hope of keeping loved-ones safe from harm. Unfortunately, for every pregnant woman and person who awakes on 1st of November, the spectre of the 8th amendment will not have been dispelled.
They will awake once again to realise they have lost their right to medical consent and the right to control what happens to their bodies.
They will awake to country where medical professionals are not free to offer best practice but must constantly balance the wants and needs of the pregnant person with laws that, they fear, would see them prosecuted for not equating the life of grown adult woman with that of a developing foetus.
They awake to a country that will send them abroad to end pregnancies that they cannot, for whatever reason, continue.
They will awake to a country that instead of allowing these decisions to be made with their own medical providers and support networks, would instead see them made travel, to support the illusion that Ireland is abortion free.
Do we know how many of these 12 a day are for rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormality? Or are they just a form of contraception for women too lazy to take precaution?
hey eamonn. what is it about women that you dislike the most?
jealous that only women can become pregnant , I have a feeling thats the crux of the issue for most religious men …
In fairness, Eamonn “dislikes” everybody.
You’re correct of course Eamonn. Women looooove inducing miscarriages, and all the hormonal and physical baggage which go with that, just coz, y’know they aren’t arsed taking the pill.
Thank you Eamonn. Finally needed to be said
The Irish Times said today that the pro-choice campaign was much like a marketing campaign. They are not wrong if this is anything to go by. One of the basics of marketing is to attach your brand to an existing one. And here we see a convoluted attempt to make repeal a hallowe’en thing. Sigh.
Beginning to get the distinct impression, don’t know from where, that everything the Repeal side does will be found to be wrong in obscure, obtuse and arbitrary ways, more in sorrow than in anger.
Thats a bit victimmy to be honest. The repeal side is getting huge support as is obvious from most media coverage. but like anything that goes public, it is open to scrutiny and criticism. Repeal just don’t seem to be any good at dealing with criticism and actually seem a bit surprised that anyone would criticise them. Probably haven’t cut their teeth as much as the Pro Life side.
‘Bit victimmy.’ Obscure, obtuse, arbitrary, and more in sorrow than in anger. The Repeal side are probably more surprised at how little of the criticism directed at them deserves to be taken seriously. ‘a convoluted attempt to make repeal a hallowe’en thing.’ Wow.
Well it is a convoluted way of making repeal a halloween thing. What else could it be? All criticism deserves to be taken seriously, its how a campaign sharpens itself. Otherwise you are just spouting to the converted and wrapping yourself in a blanket of cosy consensus. There is a large number of people to be swayed and ignoring what they think or feel is just high minded arrogance.
‘All criticism deserves to be taken seriously,’
No. Case in point.
And there is the high minded arrogance of which I speak. Like many on here, I think the important thing for you is not to actually achieve repeal, but just to be right.
You think your concern-troll criticism is entitled to respect it hasn’t earned. Suck it up and work harder.
You have no where left to go but accuse me of being a troll. Your arrogance is breathtaking and shockingly amateur. Typical policy wonk stuff. Back to your books and theses Mr. You are no use on the frontline.
That wasn’t an accusation, that was a description of the nature and style of your criticism. ‘I support Repeal but sigh over these efforts to take over Halloween’ is text-book concern trolling. It is the only worthwhile thing to be said about it, other than noting the irony of your response to criticism of your criticism about the supposed inability of the Repeal side to take criticism.
When you resort to name calling instead of dealing with the issues raised- you have lost the argument and therefore the voter. Your arrogance only proves the point of those who criticise the tactics of the repeal movement. Too righteous for your own good.
When you have to resort to empty formulations like ‘when you have to resort to name-calling you’ve lost the argument’ then you never really had an argument in the first place. If your vote was dependent on a random commenters on the internet treating your snit about repeal pumpkins on the court house steps with the respect you feel it deserves, then it was always too fragile a snowflake of a vote for this rough old world. You don’t have principals, you have an ego you want flattered.
You really have gone to the dogs. You’re not even coherent anymore. Good luck with the exams.
I hope pretending to be stupid when you’re losing an argument is a winning strategy for you in the real world! Don’t forget to vote for whoever takes your serious concerns about the increasing Repealification of Halloween seriously!
Stop vomiting your words. Type slower. use grammar and structure.
You want me to dumb it down for you? Bless.
I’m having trouble with the “free” bit of “free, safe and legal”.
How is a surgical medical procedure “free”?
When the health service doesn’t charge the patient.
Oh, I see.
More accurately then would be “paid for by the taxpayer, safe and legal.”
I guess it wouldn’t fit on the pumpkin.
Impressive manoeuvre – Are you a chess player, perchance?
Boom, boom!
Paid for out of the taxes paid by the recipient of the procedure usually.
Wow The virtue signalling faction of the repeal campaign have to suck the fun out of Halloween aswell…..
soz about your ruined haloween, hope you got some candies when your mam sent you out to trick or treat with your younger siblings.
I see us ‘wimmin’ are ruining Movember too…
the ad on youtube last night was youthdefence’s appalling video. urgh
And I see that an AAA councillor now wants a street in Dublin named after Savita??? What fresh madness is this?
Am pro-choice but would like to leave a serious issue like abortion out of something for kids like Halloween. I’d rather not have to explain abortion to my 4 year old if he happens across pumpkins with a political message.
Are they preparing Santa to deliver a Repeal message in due course?
Give your 4yo some credit, they aren’t idiots and they’ll find out anyway but in words you might not like.
Really? You think I need to tell a 4 year old about abortion?
This is the organisation that hung a Repeal banner off Galway Cathedral so I don’t think it’s too obsessed with knowing its audience
“Stork” can bring “a baby” to mommy and “stork” can take it away – they’re undertakers of miscarriages. What’s the drama about? Children are staunch pro-choicers because they love their mommies and free of dogmas.
Not sure why a campaign to return Ireland to the abortion laws we had in the 1970s is so popular among people who want abortion.
“want abortion”
I never met a women, in my entire life, and never even heard of one who wanted an abortion.
Are you undercover alien or something? You knowledge of humans appear limited.