The Irish Question

Ireland has a tradition of dealing with difficult social issues by making them go away. “We export our problems,” says Liz McManus, a member of the Irish Parliament. “We sent our unemployed. We sent our criminals.” And today, Ireland sends some 7,000 women each year to Britain to end unwanted pregnancies.

The women go because, under Irish law, only a threat to a mother’s life is legal grounds for abortion. Next week, the country will vote on a constitutional amendment that would tighten the E.U.’s most restrictive abortion law further by eliminating psychiatric threats — in other words, potential suicide — from consideration. Whatever happens at the polls, most Irish women who consider an abortion won’t be affected. This referendum debate has been about the rare hard cases. The day-to-day reality — about 10% of Irish pregnancies end in overseas abortions — has been largely overlooked.

The main goal of Prime Minister Bertie Ahern’s proposed amendment to the Irish Constitution is to address the so-called X case (after an unnamed woman) by rolling back a controversial 1992 Supreme Court ruling that equated the threat of suicide with physical risk to the woman’s life. The amendment also formally defines abortion for the first time, protecting unborn human life not after conception, but “after implantation in the womb.” That moderate definition would allow access to the morning-after pill and appeal to the middle ground in the conservative context of Ireland. But it has also upset some hardline pro-lifers, such as influential M.E.P. Dana Rosemary Scallon, who are now in a de facto “No” alliance with their pro-choice nemeses.

The campaigns by political parties and interest groups, with “Vote pro-life, vote yes” signs next to “Vote pro-life, vote no” ones, haven’t helped voters understand the bill any better. This week, all voters will get explanatory leaflets from the Referendum Commission. That may clear up some confusion. But the fear is that uncertain citizens just won’t bother to vote. Health Minister Michéal Martin says the proposal still “has a very good chance.” Backbenchers aren’t so sure. “We’re in trouble,” says Deputy John Moloney of Ahern’s Fianna Fáil party. The bill may pass “by a shade. But if we had two more weeks, we’d be under.”

Win, lose, over, under — some say, “So what?” For all the righteous rhetoric from both sides and the hundreds of thousands of euros being spent on stickers and posters and flyers, the vote changes little for the 20 women each day who exercise their constitutionally protected right to travel for abortions. “It’s an Irish solution to an Irish problem,” says Eoin Ó Múrchú, a political correspondent for the Irish-language broadcaster Raidió na Gaeltachta. “We’re happy to have abortion, as long as it’s in England.”

Though abortion is common, “even last year people were going around talking about the A word,” says Evelyn Mahon, a sociologist at Trinity College Dublin. “It’s our last great taboo.” This debate has forced the issue into more open dialogue. The referendum “means that people have to confront an unpalatable truth,” says McManus, health spokeswoman for the Labour Party, which opposes the proposal. “We do have a relatively high level of abortion.”

“The real reason we haven’t had intelligent, caring measures is because we haven’t had the political will to do it,” says Irish Examiner columnist and “Yes” campaigner Rónán Mullen. That may be changing. Though consensus on abortion itself may be impossible, everyone wants to reduce the abortion rate, and common ground can be found on preventive measures. “It’s in everyone’s interests,” says pro-amendment independent Deputy Mildred Fox. She says that one step has already been taken, with the launch of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency, set up by the Department of Health and Children to support programs for pregnant women and those who have had abortions.

The people will have to show a desire to do more as well. “We have a strong tradition of wibbling around things,” says Sherie de Burgh, director of counseling services at the Irish Family Planning Association. “We need to recognize the reality of abortion.” This is matter of life and death, for women, for families, for Irish society — and it’s not just going to go away.