
Eirígí banner: “No freedom without the freedom of women; Cat Inglis is on right
In 2015 the south of Ireland became the first state in which the people voted for gay marriage. In a referendum in May that year a decisive majority voted in favour of the right of same-sex couples to marry.
The next big battle for social progress was inevitably going to be abortion, as the reactionaries had got in early, securing a victory in a 1983 referendum that added a ban on abortion to the constitution of the state (the 8th amendment).
On Friday this week (Irish time), voters in the south will go to the polls to vote on whether to repeal the 8th amendment,
Recently Philip Ferguson of Redline interviewed Cat Inglis, a long-time left-wing activist and a member of the socialist-republican organisation Éirígí about the issues.
Philip Ferguson: Could you tell us a bit about the role of religion, especially the Catholic Church as an institution, in the life of southern Irish society and in terms of the state, public services etc?
Cat Inglis: Since the inception of the state the church has had a firm grip on many aspects of Irish life, schools are still run mainly by the diocese and are mostly catholic although in recent years there has been an upsurge in educate together style model among others. Until about 20 years ago hospitals were run by sisters from various orders. Overall there was a large religous presence in daily life; in recent years it has been greatly reduced.
PF: How did the 8th amendment come about and what was its practical, legal effect?
CI: Abortion was already (more…)