Denise Mitchell (Dublin Bay North, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Citizens' Assembly and the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution for the incredible amount of work they did. I remember marching in the 1990s about the X case when a 14-year-old girl became pregnant as a result of rape and was prevented from travelling to England to have an abortion. It was an appalling case which highlighted for many women the reality that they were second-class citizens in their own state. It was a state in which the Catholic Church held sway over society. We need only look at the disgraceful and horrific treatment of women and children who were incarcerated in Magdalen laundries and mother and baby homes to see how the State and religious institutions persecuted and oppressed women.

Let us not be fooled into thinking that somehow we have all escaped this ill treatment and persecution by the State. We have not. The eighth amendment is one of the biggest obstacles the State and we, as women, will overcome on our away to achieving equality. I commend the women who continued the struggle for equality during the decades. It was certainly not an easy thing to do. They were vilified by the media, religious institutions and the political establishment. I also commend a new generation of young women who have taken up this fight. We would not be having this debate if it were not for their activism and campaigning.

On a personal note, my heart goes out to the women from every city, village and town across Ireland who have had to make the lonely journey to England to avail of something which is recognised in most states as a fundamental right. I have spoken to many of them and the way they have been demonised by some commentators and campaigners is shameful. The eighth amendment was inserted into the Constitution 35 years ago and a generation of women of childbearing age have not been given a say on an issue which affects them. It is time to hold a referendum on the eighth amendment. I will certainly vote in favour of the repeal Bill when it is brought before the House and campaign for the repeal of the eighth amendment. It is time the issue was dealt with and the women of Ireland had their voices heard.

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