The political implications of the abortion referendum in Ireland On September 7 voters in the formally independent Irish Republic (the 26 counties of the South) added this clause to the
"The State 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 vindicate and defend that right.'
The overall result was 66.45 per cent voting 'yes' and 32.87 voting 'no'. turnout was 53.67 percent, about 20 per cent lower than the turnout for a general election or for the referendum on entry
The voting figures reflect a sharp division between rural and urban areas on the question. In Dublin, the main urban centre, there were 51.36 per cent 'yes' votes and 48.09 per cent 'no' votes, compared to results in the rural West of over 70 per cent 'yes' votes.
A decisive cause of this sharp division was the open intervention by the Catholic hierarchy in the last few weeks of what had been a long and stormy public debate. Their statements had a much greater impact in the rural areas than in the cities. They thus boosted their allies - but at a price. For the results also showed that a large number of Catholics had broken with the Church's teaching over a 'moral' issue.
Such direct intervention has been unusual in recent times - of late the hierarchy has preferred to exercise its power behind the scenes. However, such interbreak by large numbers of Catholics with the hierarchy on a 'moral' question was in the 1890s when the bishops aided in driving Charles Stewart Parnell, leader of the Home Rule for Ireland movement, to an early death in disgrace after he was cited as co-respondent in a divorce case. so doing they got rid of an awkward obstacle to British government plans by leaving the nationalist movement leaderless, and thus easier to control, for a short
But with the loss of Parnell, the most radical leader of the bourgeois section of the movement, the radicals looked for more militant answers.
In recent times the best-remembered political intervention by the Church was over the proposal in the 1947 Health Act to provide free health care for mothers and children. The hierarchy opposed this on the grounds that they would lose control over the hospitals if they received more state funding. Although they won on this battle the influence and power of the Church in the political arena has declined markedly in the period since. This is the shared assessment of the forces
Anti-Amendment Campaign (AAC). Is this just an attempt to look for a 'silver lining'?
The best yardstick to use is to ask not 'what does the Amendment say?, but 'what will it do in practice?' posed to stop abortions, but abortion is already illegal in Ireland under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act, passed in the Westminister parliament when all of Ireland was still a British colony.
HAVE THE RIGHT WON A THOROUGHGOING VICTORY?
Two years ago, when the pro-amendment campaign started, ten Irish women a day were going to Britain for an abor-
Ten Irish women will have done the same on September 7, will be doing so today, and will go on doing so for the foreseeable future
An 'anti-abortion' clause in the constitution only makes sense if Ireland's "invisible abortions' are stopped or cur-
When the pro-amendment campaign started they put forward a parmotivation for their a constitutional change would allow any citizen to act on behalf of the 'defenceless' and thus serve a High Court injunction on any woman suspected of planning an abortion in
The implications would be horrific - at air and sea ports, imprisonment of pregnant women, and so
Most people in Ireland are opposed to abortion, but they would not endorse this sort of reactionary rubbish.
The pro-amendment forces then gradually retreated on this argument. end they argued that the amendment would merely stop any change in the existing law and medical practice..if this was true, the whole exercise was
Of course this is not its sole purpose. The amendment will encourage rightists who wish to close down clinics that refer women to Britain for abortions. paring to meet such priority task for those who mobilised against the amendment.
ment) after another declared that he (it was usually he) thought the restrictions on contraception should be eased, the question of divorce looked at, laws on illegitimacy reformed and so on. The strength of the anti-amendment campaign forced them to make these moves -according to the opinion polls there is now a 2:1 majority in favour of abolishing the constitutional ban on divorce. Two years ago it was 1:1. There may even be a referendum on divorce at the time of the EEC elections in June 1984.
THE POLITICAL PARTIES AND THE REFERENDUM
The main governmental party, Fine Gael, was opposed to the wording of the amendment, although it was in favour of introducing an amendment on this question into the constitution. leader and Taoiseach (prime minister) Garret Fitzgerald, called for a 'no' vote. But his party was crippled with internal enough to badly damage its ability to stay in office for a government falls, the ruling face major problems. were three general elections within the eighteen months from June 1981 to November 1982 in order to try and achieve of the present Fine Gael/ Labour coalition would reopen a crisis of governmental instability at a time when the bourgeoisie needs strong and brutal policies.
The major opposition party, Fianna Fail, hopes to benefit from this crisis. In accordance with their history as the traditional nationalist bourgeois party they remained monolithically united in support of a 'yes' vote. But, true to their opportunist form, they were the first to make noises about changing the laws on divorce and contraception.
Party, like Fine Gael, split badly over the referendum. They will lose support on both right and left after this result, and are already losing support because of their participation in this viciously anti-working class govern-
The main gainers in this situation are likely to be the extreme anti-Republican Workers Party, who took a clear, very opportunist stand against the amendment on the grounds of opposition to making the constitution "sectarian' tothey refused to affiliate to the AAC and joined the anti-abortion bandwagon for
REPUBLICANS LET WOMEN DOWN
Sinn Fein, the main anti-imperialist party, were not involved officially in the campaign at all. Their position was of opposition to the amendment, but not
Ireland: After the elections to support the vote 'no' campaign, as they do not recognise the Southern constitution and therefore would not vote at all.
Neither individual Sinn Fein participation in the campaign, nor the presence of all the smaller anti-imperialist parties in the AAC, could offset the damage what next? this did to the anti-imperialist and nationalist movement in the eyes of those who look to it to bring answers to social, political and economic questions. Fianna Fail's support for the 'yes' campaign was accompanied with the usual hypocritical
On Wednesday August 17, a public debate took place in Belfast between John Mc
"republican' rhetoric.
So, in the end,
Anulty, member of Belfast City Council and of People's Democracy, Irish section of the effect was that the idea that Repubthe Fourth International, and Danny Morrison, elected member of the Northern licanism equals Catholicism was strengthened, and an unwise emphasis given to
'After the Elections - What Next?' posed an important the 'anti-Protestant' nature of the amendquestion for the anti-imperialist movement in Ireland, coming after the gains made ment by the liberal anti-Republican AAC by Sinn Fein in the recent election. The interest it aroused was demonstrated by the leadership.
very large attendance at the meeting, organised by the James Connolly Society which exists to promote open discussion between republicans and socialists.
A clear lesson has to be learnt for the
We reprint here the texts of the speeches made by the main contributors.
future - Republican socialism will mean were first published in Socialist Republic, paper of People's Democracy, in its Sepnothing unless there is active support to all the struggles of the oppressed in Ireland. No other method will advance the cause of Irish unity.
Women want answers now about their rights - they will not be convinced by promises of what will happen after British control of
Ireland is ended. The divorce referendum is coming soon. This will test whether or not this lesson has been learned.