The Artists’ Campaign To Repeal The Eighth Amendment is staging a March For Choice at 1.30pm on September 24, which will assemble in Dublin’s Garden of Remembrance.
"The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, Article 40.3.3 inserted in 1983, has prevented our doctors and our legislators from providing proper care to women in Ireland,” reads the campaign mission statement. “The resulting physical and emotional trauma inflicted on women is inexcusable and an ongoing cause of shame for Irish citizens.
"The Eighth Amendment undermines the status of the Irish Constitution. It is a key source of Ireland’s failure to reach international human rights standards and of the state’s failure to meet its obligations to vindicate women’s human rights.”
Among the 2,506 writers, musicians, poets, playwrights and actors supporting the initiative are such prominent names as Maria Doyle-Kennedy, Anne Enright, Lenny Abrahamson, Fionnula Flanagan, John Banville, Kevin Barry, Sebastian Barry, John Boorman, Gabriel Byrne, Lisa Hannigan, Gemma Hayes, Jenny Huston, Neil Jordan, Pat McCabe, Pauline McLynn, Sinéad O’Connor, The Rubberbandits and Deirde O’Kane. And that really is just for starters.
Talking recently to Hot Press, Lisa Hannigan said: “I was part of the Same-Sex Marriage Referendum ‘home to vote’ gang. It was a proud, incredible moment in Irish history that I think we’ll treasure forever. There are a lot more battles to go, especially regarding women’s reproductive rights. Obviously being of child-bearing age it affects me directly, but I think it affects us all directly. Amnesty International did a very thorough poll in the last few months, which showed that Irish people would by a vast majority like to repeal the 8th and want a change in the laws to make them more reasonable. There’s a certain percentage of people who are anti and will always remain so, but the vast majority don’t feel that the situation as it stands is acceptable on any level.”