Workers Solidarity Movement

On this 8th of March, as part of International Women’s Day, the group Kilkenny for Choice launched its campaign for the upcoming referendum on the 8th amendment of the constitution which currently stands in the way of decriminalising abortion in Ireland.

Early in the afternoon, members of the group set up a stall on the castle parade and were soon joined by workers from local animation studios who had crafted a series of posters and cardboard word bubbles in support of the pro choice campaign. It is always great to see how much can be achieved in a short amount of time when a number of dedicated and talented people get together to promote a cause. The delightful variety of handmade visuals sharply contrasts with the slick, uniform, mass produced imagery of the pro-life campaign.

The afternoon stall’s objective was also to invite more people to the event taking place that same evening in Kilkenny’s club house hotel: an open conversation on the 8th amendment facilitated by a constitutional lawyer employed by the National Women’s Council of Ireland. The conversation took place after a factual overview of the legal history of reproductive rights in Ireland including the key cases which have shaped the laws and swayed perceptions on this issue.

The non partisan nature of the event relies on the conviction that Ireland’s abortion history in and of itself contains the seeds of a pro-choice consciousness, and of the recognition that, in matters of reproduction just as in any other area, authoritarianism is a the only reasonable position.

The event drew a wide variety of Kilkenny residents, from secondary school to pensioners including people originally from countries as far as South Africa and Brazil, here to learn about their rights and support the struggle for all women in Ireland.