Follow @RPJblog Abortion continues to be a highly emotive topic in Irish politics and public life. The campaign to repeal the eighth amendment to the Irish Constitution has brought the question of abortion in the state back to the centre of public debate, and, as is to be expected, tempers on both sides of the … Continue reading Thoughts on the Eighth Amendment
Why we can’t “Park the Ontology” in the Abortion Debate
Follow @UrFhasaidh One of the fundamental frustrations of the present abortion debate is that a great number of the voices on either side enter into the discussion without ever offering an adequate definition of human life. On the one hand there is the frequently cited pro-choice dictum that it is the woman’s body and therefore … Continue reading Why we can’t “Park the Ontology” in the Abortion Debate
Abortion Rights, Comedy, and Simplistic Answers
It’s funny because it’s true, or at least it is true insofar as we buy into the stereotype of the infantile, selfish, and unreflective Jock of western culture. As witty as this quip is, it has been regurgitated ad nauseam by the cyber commentariat to the point that it has become something of a truism of male attitudes towards women and the rights of the unborn – if any – had they inconvenience them.
Should We Repeal the Eighth Amendment?
The tragic death of Savita Halappanavar in 2012 exposed the flaw in a system in which a therapeutic termination was a medical option, but where – for lack of legal clarification – the medical staff run the risk of a fourteen year custodial sentence.