Abortion: It’s a simple yes or no scenario

All this hand wringing about abortion and other social issues is so typically Irish and makes one fear that despite everything that’s happened over the last six years, nothing has changed. We all know that there won’t be any meaningful reform or change as long as Enda Kenny’s generation of the grey old men from the 1970s is still in control. Mr Kenny is nothing if not the political son of Liam Cosgrave.

The 1937 Constitution is clearly not fit for purpose and was written for an Ireland in a period of time that has no connection to the reality of how Irish people live today. It utterly lacks the classical simplicity of the US or French constitutions which have both stood the test of time and been able to adapt to societal changes. A constitution is not the place to enter sections concerning social issues like marriage, abortion, gay rights or the role of women or men in society. These are issues that should be removed and dealt with by legislation that reflects the popular will of the people at any given point in time and can be changed accordingly.

If you are against gay marriage then don’t marry a gay person and their right to marry won’t affect your life in any way. Similarly if you object to abortion for personal or religious reasons then you won’t have an abortion, no matter what the circumstances of your crisis pregnancy. But that doesn’t give you the right to deny another woman the option to make her own decision if she finds herself with a crisis pregnancy.

Of course if the guilt and responsibility for causing a crisis pregnancy in the first place was equally shared with the man who didn’t use contraception, I’m sure the law would be changed far quicker.

These are actually simple issues and yes or no are perfectly reasonable stances to take. It’s about time Irish people faced these issues like grown adults.

Desmond FitzGerald

Canary Wharf

London