Why We Need To Repeal The 8th

Students marching at the #Strike4Repeal in Dublin last Wednesday - Photograph by Phelim O Laoghaire

Last Wednesday saw over 15000 people take to the streets of Dublin to take part in the #Strike4Repeal, a protest in hope of repealing the 8th amendment. For anyone who isn't entirely sure what exactly the 8th amendment is, the constitution states:

‘The states acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right" (The life of a foetus is equal to the life of the mother, therefore she may not have an abortion unless her own life is at risk, regardless of the circumstances of the pregnancy)

The #Strike4Repeal hopes to achieve the legalisation of abortion in Ireland and while a prodigious amount of people understand why we need to repeal the 8th a substantial amount of people don't fully understand what legalising abortion will mean, or the reasons it's so important that we do.

Legalising abortions does not mean everyone will start getting abortions. It does not mean that abortion clinics will open up on every street corner in Ireland and there will not be queues of women out the doors of them waiting to get their monthly abortion. Legalising abortions will not mean people will start using abortions as contraceptives. It will not make abortions become a trend and it will not make people become desensitised.

Legalising abortions in Ireland will mean that women will be able to safely have abortions without having to travel abroad. It will stop women who are unable to travel abroad from having back-alley abortions. It will provide comfort to those who choose to have an abortion, as regardless of the reason it is never an easy or pleasant decision for a person to make, or a decision a person wants to make. It will mean women will be able to make a choice that is rightfully theirs, and that they will be in control of their own body.

Regardless of the law in Ireland approximately 4000 abortions are still happening every year - either abroad or as a back-alley abortion. Making abortion legal will mean these abortions can be done safely. Even if abortion is not a choice that you would make, it is important to understand that for others it is the choice that they will make, and it is urgent that these abortions will be performed safely. It is also important to realise that the decision a person makes is entirely their own and another person's opposing opinion should not stop them from being allowed to make this choice. If you don't agree with abortions don't get one, but do not deny someone else the option to have one. 

We don't just want the right to safe, legal abortions - we need it, and everyone who believes this needs to continue to fight for their belief until the 8th amendment is repealed, and until there is the option of safe, legal abortions.

Links with more information:

Abortion in Ireland - Myths + Facts

IFPA - Abortion in Ireland

"The power of the people is stronger than the people in power"
Photographs by Phelim O Laoghaire

How To Really Live

“You have to die a few times before you can really live”.

A Poignant, yet Sanguine statement. Nothing less would be expected from Bukowski, as without statements like so, he would not be Bukowski. Typically well known for his numerous pieces of striking yet honest writing,  there is no piece of his that has touched me quite as deeply as that sentence.

The reality of the struggles in life can be something that many can find quite difficult to comprehend, leaving them wondering if the problems that are now or previously in their lives can define the future that lies ahead of them. In this short sentence Bukowski shows how this is not the reality of the situation.

From day to day each one of us tend to look at our own life and think about all the pain and suffering we have endured throughout our years. This sentence stands as a reminder. Not a reminder of the bad things we have been through and how they have torn us down but how these things have now given us the chances to grow through the dirt and appreciate life for what it is. It is a reminder that without the bad days we do not have the ability to understand and appreciate the good ones.

As a child I had an intense fear of most things in life; the dark, outer space, falling, dying. As i grew older these fears became more intense to the point where I could barely function and I felt that I would never truly live, that my life would stay mediocre and dull. Since reading that single sentence I realised that the struggle I went through was absolutely necessary, that I had to “die” before I could understand what life is about, before I  could appreciate all the small things that I had not appreciated before, before I - as a wise man once said - “could really live”.

Charles Bukowski reflecting on his thoughts, before his death in 1994.

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