(en) wsm.ie: To the 4, 000: We say 'you are not alone' -
March for Choice this Saturday by Tom Murray
Ask yourself a question. A relative, a friend, a neighbour, a co-worker or a stranger on a
bus comes to you and says that they were pregnant but exercised their right to choose and
secured a termination. Would you then imprison them for 14 years? ---- If you wouldn't
jail someone for exercising their right to choose, then you might consider joining the 4th
Annual March for Choice will take place in Dublin this Saturday, 26th September. The day
marks the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion. The march will
assemble at the Garden of Remembrance from 1:30pm. ---- As things stand in Ireland,
securing an abortion in Ireland is virtually impossible. Pregnancies must be carried to
term in almost all circumstances, including where there is a significant risk to your
health and including where a foetus is unlikely to survive. Abortion is allowed only if
you are in immediate danger of dying. Even here, the 8th Amendment to the 1937 Irish
Constitution, passed in 1983, places the right to life of the foetus on an equal footing
with the right to life of the woman.
For those who would exercise their right to choose, breaking Ireland's abortion laws could
get you 14 years in jail. If you are a healthcare provider and refer a woman to seek an
abortion abroad, you may face a fine of up to EUR4,000.
Many women have instead exercised their right to choose by travelling to secure a
termination. Every year, some 4,000 women, young and old, leave Ireland to have an
abortion in the UK. Forcing people out of the country in this manner has damaging
emotional and psychological consequences, making what can be a difficult or lonely
situation even worse in the absence of networks of supportive friends and family. It also
places abortion out of reach for those who are unable to travel - for reasons of
insufficient money, uncertain visa status, cis-gender identity issues, or simply lack of
self-assurance.
We anarchists of the Workers Solidarity Movement think that access to abortion should be
free, safe and legal. An anarchist society is one in which all people - men, women, trans*
- are free to make choices about their own lives. This includes choices about whether or
not to become pregnant, remain pregnant or to have children by any means. We do not look
to legislators to improve our lives: we look to one another instead.
This Saturday, we will march for choice. We want to walk side-by-side with those who have
exercised their right to choose. We want to demonstrate solidarity with those 4, 000 women
who are forced to travel for abortions every year. We want to say to them 'You are not alone'.
This Saturday, we will march for choice. Will you?
REFERENCES
More information on the Abortion Rights Campaign is available at
www.abortionrightscampaign.ie.
The Workers Solidarity Movement has a long, proud history of supporting women's right to
choose. Our coverage of Choice activism and associated issues is available at
http://www.wsm.ie/medical-abortion
For updates on pro-choice struggles and coverage of the demonstration, like and follow us
at https://www.facebook.com/SolidarityTimes
Author: Tom Murray
http://www.wsm.ie/c/abortion-dublin-march-choice-sept2015
