As Ireland hurtles towards its first referendum on abortion in 35 years, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has made the bold choice not to lead.
By Friday morning, it had escaped absolutely nobody that Varadkar was the only leader of a major Irish political party who has not yet made public his stance on whether he believes Ireland should repeal Bunreacht na hÉireann’s eighth amendment, which gives the unborn the same rights as the mother.
Varadkar, a doctor and former Minister for Health, told the public that they would learn of his own feelings “in a couple of weeks,” leaving a big Taoiseach-shaped hole in the wall of Leinster House.
The first one to burst through it was Simon Harris, the current Minister for Health, who opened the Dáil debate with an incredibly emotional speech wherein he listed how many women had traveled from each of Ireland’s counties to procure an abortion in the United Kingdom last year.
Harris went on to offer a firm rebuttal of the 8th Amendment on a moral level, saying: “I hope as a country we can no longer tolerate a law which denies care and understanding to women who are our friends, our sisters, our mothers, our daughters, our wives.”
Though adamantly pro-life at the beginning of his political career, Harris has said he has come around to repealing the 8th Amendment by talking to many women who have been affected by it, learning that “too often Ireland is a very cold place for women in a crisis pregnancy.”
Though he’s only been a cabinet minister for less than two years, Harris cuts a more empathetic figure than Varadkar, who once laughed off the idea that abortion might be a class issue (after first saying “I don’t know what that means.”) Harris has demonstrated that he’s willing to speak to those who might be marginalised by the status quo and come away ready to champion their struggle.
His stance on abortion as well as his youth (at 31, he wasn’t even born the last time Ireland voted on this matter) makes him a sterling poster-boy for Fine Gael’s progressive wing — a wing that’s finally getting to do some flapping after decades of keeping itself tucked away.
But if Varadkar could feel Harris kicking at his ankles on Wednesday, the two-footed tackle was about to come in from Fianna Fáil leader Mícheál Martin.
In 2017, a vote at the Fianna Fáil Ard Fheis passed a motion to “protect the rights of the unborn,” which is to say, retain the 8th Amendment. Not only that, but on the first night of the Dáil’s abortion debate, many of Fianna Fáil TDs spoke passionately in defence of the amendment.
With that in mind, it seems disingenuous to dismiss Mícheál Martin’s speech as no more than an attempt at political expediency.
Many on social media claimed they were moved to tears by the Corkman’s speech, wherein he acknowledged that “If we are sincere in our compassion for women and if we are sincere in respecting their choices then we must act, because the 8th Amendment has been shown to cause real damage to Irish women.”
There is no suggestion that Martin’s comments will make him any more popular within his own party, a reality that has won him many plaudits for making the brave decision to speak so emphatically on the matter – particularly when the Taoiseach has shied away from the argument.
But Martin did not only break with his party – he also broke with himself.
Asked eight months ago by KFM’s Shane Beatty whether he would countenance abortion in cases of incest and rape, Martin equivocated, saying: “It’s not a simple ‘yes or no’, that depends on a number of issues. I know people today who are alive through their mother being raped. In one particular case she was the outcome of that and she gets very angry when people suggest she should never have had a life. This is not simple, and I think it’s an issue that’ll come before the Oireachtas.”
Those comments cut a stark contrast with Martin’s speech in the Dáil on Thursday, where he said “No one can dispute the fact that thousands of Irish women have an abortion every year. For the significant majority this means a journey to Britain – often alone and always separated from the support of their medical professionals. For many a crisis can become a deep and hidden trauma… I believe the case for change is justified by the full range of evidence available to us and I will vote for this change.”
It was a rather blistering attack on a law that has been considered just another part of Irish life for so long, displaying a clear willingness to at last move with the times.
This sea-change in the views of Ireland’s major politicians, aided by the frank and open discussion that was channeled through the Citizens’ Assembly and the 8th Committee, provide hope for progressives in Ireland that their ideologies are finally making their way into the mainstream of Irish politics.
As Leo Varadkar keeps quiet, his fiercest rivals and plausible Paddy Power favourites for “Next Taoiseach” are conducting the conversation in his absence.
The Taoiseach is entitled to all the time in the world to make up his mind on the 8th Amendment; indeed, he may yet speak eloquently and passionately in defence of whichever side of the fence he lands on.
But after this week’s Dáil debate, it is now too late for him to say he led.
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