Brendan Howlin (Wexford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I said yesterday that for many people Saturday was a day of great excitement and that for some of us it was equally a day of relief. Clearly, 35 years is a long time to wait to repeal a measure we opposed in the first place. When I was in the Seanad in 1983 we came close to defeating the amendment. I recognise that would not have stopped the referendum in 1983. It would merely have delayed it but it might have afforded the time for reflection on what was being done. I am mindful today of the strong clear reasoned arguments put forward then in the Seanad by Members, including Mary Robinson, Michael D. Higgins and Catherine McGuinness. I am mindful of the courage of Dick Spring, Barry Desmond, Eileen Desmond and others in the Dáil despite searing opposition from some. Over the weekend I thought fondly of the late Monica Barnes, a champion of equality. It is sad that she was not here to see a change she had worked so strongly to bring about for so many years.

Lessons were learned from that rushed and politically damaging episode, when a small minority bullied the two largest parties into proposing an amendment that the then Taoiseach described as dangerous and that was opposed by the then Attorney General. Those were truly desperate days. The contrast with the process engaged in by this Dáil could not be more marked. A deliberative Citizens' Assembly, chaired by Ms Justice Mary Laffoy, provided a platform and a calm atmosphere for all the issues to be fully addressed and for all arguments to be heard. This was followed by the diligent work of the all-party committee ably chaired by Senator Catherine Noone. The committee arrived at a set of proposals that attracted broad cross-party support. We subsequently learned those proposals attracted the support of the people as well.

Yet, the seeds of change were sown many years ago. In 1992, the Supreme Court laid bare the contradictions inherent in the eighth amendment. If the evidence of turning a blind eye to the issue of abortion was not obvious enough, the people formally enacted provisions in our Constitution in 1992 to facilitate information to be provided on abortion and for women to travel for abortion but not to have abortions here. The issue was returned to in 2002 when a further effort was made to remove the grounds of suicide and reverse the Supreme Court decision. That effort too was defeated by the people.

Yet, it was the tragic death of Savita that radically changed things. It showed the cowardice of our political system, which had failed to show the leadership that had been called for over many years. The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act was among the most difficult tranches of legislation enacted by the last Government. It was pursued line by line and fought detail by detail. It is not right to say Savita did not die in vain – she did. She should not have died. Nothing can change that. Yet, people were so horrified by the reality created by the medical-legal environment of the eighth amendment and the tragic way it contributed to the untimely death of Savita that a grassroots movement was sparked throughout Ireland. That led to the repeal. It opened the doors for hundreds of women to tell their stories and shine a light on the pain that the eighth amendment had inflicted. The result on Saturday shows how conclusively the people can make a decision on these matters. I hope it finally draws a line under decades of struggle.

Abortion will always remain a divisive issue but the scale of the vote - two thirds of the electorate voted "Yes" - has definitively changed the context of how terminations of pregnancy can and must be considered in Ireland. What was once a taboo subject is now openly discussed.

For 35 years we have denied something essential to Irish women. We have denied them security and protection at crucial points in their lives. We have denied them dignity too. Saturday was a levelling day for them. Our job now, as others have said, is to quickly implement the legislation and right this historical wrong.

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