This fight didn't start with abortion, and it won't end with abortion
Orla O'Brien and Tanya Miller protest the decision to overturn Roe v Wade at the US Embassy in Ballsbridge on Sunday. One thing the pro- and anti-abortion sides agreed with on social media was that a post-Roe v Wade America was a vision of what Ireland could soon become. File picture: Stephen Collins/Collins Photos
News that the US Supreme Court had overturned Roe v Wade came as a harsh reminder that progress gained in the journey towards equality is never guaranteed.
The US has long been a place that Irish people - both pro- and anti-abortion - have looked to as an example of what Ireland could be.
So, it is no surprise that the news this week has shaken people and seen tensions rise to levels not really seen since the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment.
Scrolling through social media, there were people who were afraid, angry and disturbed while there were people who were overjoyed, full of praise for the Supreme Court and relishing the moment. The one thing both groups agreed on was that a post-Roe v Wade America was a vision of what Ireland could soon become.
Four years after Repeal the Eighth and almost three years since abortion was decriminalised in the North, pregnant people still struggle to get abortions and still find themselves having to travel to Britain for their medical care.
In 2021, more than 200 people from the Republic and 161 from the North travelled to England and Wales to access abortion care.
Half of the counties in Ireland have fewer than 10 GPs offering abortion services and only four have “well-developed” networks, according to the National Women’s Council.
The referendum was a major battle but both sides knew it was far from the end. Now, many anti-abortion campaigners feel they have a blueprint or map to guide them on their quest to ban abortion.
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín said Friday was "a wonderful day for human rights and democracy" claiming it will one day be viewed in the same light as emancipation from slavery.
"Ireland deregulated abortion 50 years after the US. Hopefully, it won't take as long to return to human rights," he tweeted.
Dermot Kearney, President of the Catholic Medical Association in the UK, who is scheduled to speak at the annual 'Rally for Life' in Dublin, tweeted: "The UK and Ireland are next" along with the prayer hands emoji.
"Maybe the #NorthIsNext after all... but in a good way," one group responded, using a hashtag started by the pro-choice movement in the North.
A separate NI group told its 3,000 followers that maintaining an anti-abortion presence outside medical centres providing abortion services is "more important than ever".
Amid a slew of tweets reacting to the news from the US, one Irish right-wing commentator questioned why Irish politicians were reacting to the very same news. At once implying that it should not concern Ireland while simultaneously spending a great deal of time giving his own view on it.
Another high-profile anti-abortion campaigner spent the days following the SCOTUS decision proclaiming the beginning of the end for abortion worldwide, "it's only a matter of time" went the refrain.
Mixed in with the tweets and retweets from Irish people thanking Donald Trump, praising god and platforming Republicans, so-called evangelists and Catholic publications from the US, there is the undeniable sense that the anti-abortion movement in Ireland has been revitalised by the events in America.
"I'm feeling emboldened!", tweeted Eden McCourt, an anti-abortion activist who is also slated to speak at the upcoming 'Rally for Life'.
The people of Ireland who want full bodily autonomy for all need to be aware of how the past few days have reinvigorated their opposition. Especially when the opposition never really lost momentum.
Abortion rights groups have worked tirelessly - both before and since the 2018 referendum - they have kept their focus, done their utmost to keep the issue to the forefront and to keep their supporters from becoming complacent.
It can be difficult to fight complacency though, especially as other important global and life events take focus. With attention elsewhere, the opposition can continue to chip away, playing the long game in order to achieve their goal.
Human rights aren't lost in a day, they are eroded slowly bit by bit. The problem is that too many people will not notice or speak up until it is their rights that are ripped from them. The LGBTQI+ community in the US and here in Ireland have been telling us this for a long time.
When we allow any group's basic human rights to be restricted or stripped away entirely, we are saying that it is acceptable to do so. When a person's life, health and being is allowed to be treated as something that is up for "debate", it allows them to be dehumanised.
When you stop thinking of those people as being just like you then it makes it a lot easier to turn a blind eye when they are denied their rights. There is no need to start quoting Martin Niemöller to you, we all know the deal.
The message is simple: This fight didn't start with abortion, and it won't end with abortion.
Anyone who is out there fighting for abortion access and not stepping up for the rights of others cannot expect victory until they realise this; the opposition already has.
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