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posted by janrinok on Tuesday May 29 2018, @07:40PM   Printer-friendly
from the generational-attitude-shift dept.

Al Jazeera reports

Polls have closed in an Irish referendum on abortion that could represent a change in the path of a country that was once one of Europe's more socially conservative.

Voters turned out in large numbers on [May 25] to have their say on whether to repeal the country's Eighth Amendment, which outlaws abortion by giving equal rights to the unborn.

An exit poll, conducted for the Irish Times by Ipsos/MRBI, suggested that the country voted by a landslide margin to change the constitution so that abortion can be legalised.

The vote to repeal the constitutional ban was predicted to win by 68 percent to 32 percent, according to the poll of 4,000 voters, the Irish Times said.

[...] If the proposal to repeal the Eighth Amendment is defeated on [May 25], the country will not have a second referendum and it could be another 35 years before voters have their say on the matter again, [Prime Minister Leo] Varadkar said.

[...] 78 percent of the Irish population is Catholic

[...] Thousands of people living abroad returned home to vote. Ireland is one of the few countries in the European Union that does not allow those abroad to vote via post or in embassies.

Those away for less than 18 months remain eligible to vote at their former local polling station. Those living on the Atlantic islands cast their ballot a day early to help prevent delays in transportation and counting the ballot papers.

When the constitutional amendment to instate the ban was voted on in 1983, 66.9 percent voted "yes," and 33.1 percent voted "no".

Widely reported, including:


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  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by KilroySmith on Tuesday May 29 2018, @09:41PM (1 child)

    by KilroySmith (2113) on Tuesday May 29 2018, @09:41PM (#685921)

    >>> I just can't understand why

    Because most people can't separate "I believe this" from "you should follow my beliefs". Those who believe that homosexual acts are a sin have a very difficult time separating "It's a sin, so I shouldn't do it" from "It's a sin, so you shouldn't do it, and I'll send men with guns to arrest you if you do". Those who believe that aborting a fetus is a sin have a hard time not telling others that they shouldn't abort fetuses.

    From the other side, of course, those who believe that a fetus is a human being, and deserving all the rights of a human being, believe that a human being shouldn't be murdered. Replace "fetus" with "Negro" in that statement, and we'd all agree - hell it was the rallying cry of abolitionists 200 years ago in the USA.

    Tough conundrum.

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  • (Score: 2) by NotSanguine on Tuesday May 29 2018, @10:23PM

    Because most people can't separate "I believe this" from "you should follow my beliefs". Those who believe that homosexual acts are a sin have a very difficult time separating "It's a sin, so I shouldn't do it" from "It's a sin, so you shouldn't do it, and I'll send men with guns to arrest you if you do". Those who believe that aborting a fetus is a sin have a hard time not telling others that they shouldn't abort fetuses.

    I draw your attention to this, from 1973:

    “The correct way to punctuate a sentence that states: "Of course it is none of my business, but -- " is to place a period after the word "but." Don't use excessive force in supplying such a moron with a period. Cutting his throat is only a momentary pleasure and is bound to get you talked about.”

    --Robert A. Heinlein

    No one should get to decide what happens inside someone else's body. Full Stop.

    Don't like abortion or contraception or drugs or alcohol or high-heeled shoes or unfiltered cigarettes or wearing white after Labor Day? Don't do/use those things. Beyond that, Heinlein has more advice, this time from 1966:

    "My old man taught me two things: mind own business; always cut cards"

    --
    No, no, you're not thinking; you're just being logical. --Niels Bohr