Dublin ANV meeting

Tuesday February 12, 2002 10:51

by choice

Over a 100 meet to mobilise a No vote in the Abortion referendum.

Some 120 people attended a public meeting in Wynns Hotel, Dublin to launch the Alliance for a No Vote campaign in the up coming Abortion referendum.

Kathleen O’Neill for the ANV pointed to how women will be criminalized if the referendum goes through. She argued that the Bill is insulting to women in that it presumes that they will pretend to be suicidal to get an abortion.
She specifically pointed to the fact that working class women are discriminated by the abortion being illegal because of the cost and difficulty of travelling to England. Further, saying it was ridiculous that this was the fifth referendum in 20 years on the issue --- is there no end to it?.

Helen Keogh, Fine Gael senator, argued for people to put themselves in the position of the mother of a girl like Miss X. She said that no amount of legal sanction would stop 7,000 women going to England for abortions each year.

Mebh Ruane a journalist from the Irish Times pointing out that infant mortality in Ireland was above the EU average argued argued that what “informed compassion “ meant was voting against the referendum, if we didn’t want Ireland to be in the ranks of Iran or Afghanistan when it came to women’s rights.

A number of people spoke from the floor including a Psychiatrist and a former midwife who both pointed through some of the misinformation from the government Notably that the government were lying when they said the Psychiatric profession backed the referendum.

A number of speakers argued that fighting for a women’s right to choose was an essential part of the referendum battle. It was pointed out that thousands had taken to the street to bring about the limited changes that took place after the X-Case.

All were agreed in the need to mobilise as many people as possible to win a No vote.

At times the meeting had a slight atmosphere of the great and the good telling the unwashed what we should do. (This wasn’t helped by waiting with baited breath for Liz McManus to arrive from the Dail. And that Des Geraghty of SIPTU didn’t bother turning up to speak without explanation was mildly irritating.)

But overall there was a strong sense of unity of purpose and feeling that people rowing into the campaign can defeat the referendum.

The main thing that came out of the meeting was for people to get involved.

If you want to poster, leaflet, canvass or just find out more Contact the ANV @
Alliance for a NO Vote, PO Box 8306, Dublin 1
Email: [email protected]

Video of the meeting http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=274
Photos of the meeting http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=273

Yellow pages to withdraw abortion information:
http://www.indymedia.ie/cgi-bin/newswire.cgi?id=271