On September 24th, 2016, it was not the racket of Luas works or the rumble of traffic that filled the air of inner city Dublin, but chants of the thousands who took part in the March for Choice. “Get your rosaries off my ovaries” sang the crowds as they marched across O’Connell Bridge, their strong incantation rising above the city streets. Little did many of them know that, on the same day, those same words were being sung in over 30 cities across the globe. From Nepal to Melbourne, Irish diaspora, along with native pro-choice campaigners around the globe, rallied together to show solidarity for the Irish campaign. Cities marched in parallel with Dublin, their message loud and clear: the eighth amendment to the Irish Constitution must be repealed.
While largely viewed as an “Irish issue”, a quick internet search reveals that there are many abortion rights groups distributed across the world. These groups are under the umbrella of the Repeal Global campaign, a movement that aims to encourage and facilitate international participation in the fight to repeal the eighth. Founded by Karen Twomey and Fiona Gwozdz of The Scarlet Brigade, the Repeal Global Facebook group has become an ever-expanding hub for solidarity event organisers around the world. The group was established prior to last year’s March for Choice, whilst Twomey was living in Vancouver and Gwozdz was living in Portland, Oregon.
“We were living in places where there was access to abortion”, explains Twomey, speaking to The University Times. “Canada has one of the most liberal abortion laws in the world. They have free, safe and legal access since 1969. We were getting really frustrated and were wondering if there was anything we could do.” According to Twomey, Repeal Global, now approaching its second March for Choice event, “gives people abroad a chance to have their voices heard”. “An event can be a group of friends showing solidarity. Or it can be a big protest. It can be whatever you want it to be.”
An event can be a group of friends showing solidarity. Or it can be a big protest. It can be whatever you want it to be
Twomey held her event outside the Vancouver Art Gallery. She had stands depicting a timeline of women’s rights in Ireland. “This doctor was passing by”, recalls Twomey, “and he was really upset. He was a doctor in Scotland years ago and had helped women who had had backstreet abortions. He was a gynaecologist and years later couldn’t believe that it was still happening … Everyone was just absolutely mortified”.
John Hyland, one of the organisers of the pro-choice march in Brussels, expressed a similar sentiment when he spoke to The University Times. After moving to Brussels to work in communications for Greenpeace, Hyland wanted to stay active in the repeal the eighth campaign: “I’d end up having conversations with people in Brussels from different countries about how bad the situation was in Ireland. I felt bad as I wasn’t able to take part in the campaigning in Ireland.”
In March 2017, Hyland started the Post for Repeal campaign. The movement encouraged pro-choice advocates around the world to send postcards to the then-Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, demanding female bodily autonomy. Despite the fact that abortions are safe and legal in Belgium, over 200 people attended last year’s march. The campaigners in Belgium saw support from Belgian left-leaning and feminist groups. “A lot of people aren’t really aware in other countries, how bad it is in Ireland, regarding the abortion laws”, notes Hyland. “I think people have a vague idea that Ireland is quite Catholic. The response from people who aren’t Irish was just shock.”
This year’s march in Brussels will be held on September 28th, two days ahead of the global March for Choice. This is to coincide with rallies that are due to be held in Brussels for International Safe Abortion Day. “There is a much larger protest taking place in Brussels being organised by a coalition of feminist groups”, says Hyland. “I think from being involved in this campaign, a lot of us have realised that it is really hard in other European countries as well. We want to show solidarity with them. It is not just about one fight in one country, it is a broader issue.”
Cross-border campaigning is a central goal for many of the international abortion rights groups around the world. Aside from their movement to repeal the eighth, the Scottish-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign is fighting for free, safe and legal abortions in Northern Ireland. Speaking to The University Times, Cliodhna Cork outlines their fight: “Scotland being right beside Ireland means that Irish women do travel here for abortions, especially from Northern Ireland”, explains Cork. “People in the UK should be aware that this is happening in their country. In another part of their country, in Northern Ireland, women don’t have access to the same medical care they do.”
This year will see marches in both Glasgow and Edinburgh, and the group plans to lobby Scottish politicians to support Northern Irish women and place pressure on both the Irish and the Northern Irish governments: “It is very important that they feel pressure to the point that they can’t continue to brazenly ignore the fact that they are violating international human rights laws.”
The Repeal New York City group, 3,122 miles away, are also making their preparations for September’s march. Last September, the group carried out a clinic defence at a local abortion clinic and hosted a speak-out at the Irish consulate in New York. This year, the group are planning another demonstration outside the Irish consulate on September 30th. The group was founded by Aoife Riach and Amanda Ocasio. Speaking to The University Times, Ocasio, who is American, underlined that she “wanted to do something to help change the conversation” and raise awareness of Ireland’s restrictive abortion laws: “No one knew that it was a thing. No one knew that it was a problem. I frequently wore a repeal the eighth jumper or t-shirt and I had some classmates ask me why I wanted to repeal the American eighth.”
I think people have a vague idea that Ireland is quite Catholic. The response from people who aren’t Irish was just shock
The Repeal New York City Twitter page anchors their campaign. Every month, pro-choice activists such as Claire Bailey of the Northern Ireland Green Party and Labour Senator Aodhán Ó’Ríordáin participate in Twitter Q&A sessions, inviting those in New York and around the world to join in the conversation about reproductive rights. This a conversation that Ocasio says needs to keep happening, despite the promise of a referendum: “When the referendum rolls around, it will be fresh in people’s minds. People will know, see, hear the stories. People will get why it matters and that it is not just an issue that has been tossed by the wayside.”
Across the Pacific Ocean, the Melbourne-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign are not letting distance get in the way of their repeal the eighth campaign. Following their successful pro-choice march last year and their involvement in the Post for Repeal campaign, the group have another march planned for September 30th. “In Australia, we are quite far away from the fulcrum of the campaign and we understand our limits”, says group organiser Shauna Stanley, speaking to The University Times. “However, we do want to show our support for everyone at home. We want people to know that just because we have left and gone to Australia, we are not just leaving them behind.”
People will know, see, hear the stories. People will get why it matters and that it is not just an issue that has been tossed by the wayside
Having always been pro-choice, law graduate Stanley decided to become active on the issue following the controversial PP vs HSE case. This saw doctors afraid to turn off the life support of a pregnant, but clinically brain-dead, woman, in case this would breach the foetus’ right to life under the eighth amendment. “This highlights the dystopia we live in”, says Stanley. “A clinically [brain] dead person is allowed to be kept alive as an incubator. It really highlights, not only the inhumane extremes of the eighth, but also how highly legalised the issue is.”
In comparison, Stanley notes that, in a country that is still fighting for marriage equality, abortion is legal in most Australian states: “Ireland likes to position itself as this newly progressive country, especially with the amazing Yes Equality campaign. A lot of my friends in Melbourne are shocked when they find out that abortion is still effectively illegal in Ireland.” For Stanley and many other pro-choice activists around the world, the fight to repeal the eighth is only getting stronger: “We can’t just export our problems. For me and for a lot of the abortion rights activists, the time has come for free, safe and legal abortions to become a reality for all. The time is now, as they say.”
