The citizens assembly is meeting for the final time today on the topic of abortion in Ireland.
The assembly has been asked to make a recommendation to the Irish government as to whether the laws restricting abortion in Ireland should be changed.
The citizens assembly, consisting of 99 citizens of Ireland, is intended to be representative of the population. Forming an assembly to discuss possible changes to the constitution has been seen by some as a timid decision by the government. Rather than deciding to hold a referendum on abortion or not, they put it on the proverbial long finger and asked instead that 99 people give up one weekend a month to the process of democratic discussion.
The assembly has heard from experts on both sides of the debate, as well as from some of the 13,000 submissions, made by members of the public. For perspective, the assembly that debated whether to hold a referendum legalising Gay marriage, received less than 3,000 submissions.
There has been some controversy over the selection of speakers and experts addressing the assembly. Pro-life groups have expressed grievance as to what they feel is an unequal representation of the many sides of debate.
The reaction on Twitter and social media to the assembly is largely dominated by pro-choice voices, who are watching the live streamed assembly.
https://twitter.com/NatBatsx/status/827945724792934400
#citizensassembly panels just asked if they know of any example where a man's autonomy is restricted in a similar way, couldn't give any
— Lisa Chambers (@lichamber) February 5, 2017
https://twitter.com/GoChaela/status/827903648831307776
The abortion debate in Ireland, at present, centres largely around the 8th amendment, which places the life of the mother and the unborn on an equal legal footing. This means that unless the woman’s life is in mortal danger she is prohibited from having an abortion, this includes cases of pregnancy as a result of rape. Ireland is in breach of the UN commission of human rights for its restrictive abortion laws, and has been condemned by human rights organisations such as Amnesty for its denial of reproductive rights to the women and men of Ireland.
The Irish government has previously been forced to pay €30,000 to a woman, for denying her the right to terminate a pregnancy after she was informed her baby had no viable life outside of the womb. There is reportedly several more cases upcoming in the UN rights committee. This impending financial burden on the government, may become another impetus for constitutional change.
A live stream of the citizens assembly is below;
The assembly will, in future meetings discuss other topics of pertinence like Ireland’s aging population.
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