Press Release 
 
Saturday, September 29th 2012

 For immediate use


 



“Political will, not public opinion, is  preventing action on abortion”

 The Irish Feminist Network  will today (Saturday, September 29th) participate along with thousands of others in a March for Choice to mark the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion and celebrate their support for a woman’s right to choose. 

IFN co-ordinator Alison Spillane said, “Today is a historic day – not only are we marking the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion but we are also reminding the government that this issue is not going away. The most recent opinion poll (Sunday Times, September 16th 2012) shows that 80% of the electorate support access to abortion when a woman’s life is at risk, as per the X case judgment. It is clear that political will, not public opinion, is holding this issue back.”

“The government’s expert group was initially due to report in July of this year before the deadline was extended to September – we are now at the end of the month and no report has been published. The government must immediately make public the findings of the expert group and legislate for X”, she said. 

“Today we march in solidarity with over 150,000 women who, since 1980, have been forced out of this country to access abortion services abroad and together we demand change to Ireland’s archaic and barbaric abortion laws”.

 ENDS

Notes to the editor: 
         
The Irish Feminist Network is a voluntary organisation committed to promoting gender equality in Ireland. With over 3,000 online supporters, it is the fastest growing feminist organisation in the country.

 The March for Choice will start at the Spire on O’Connell Street at 2pm before proceeding to Merrion Square. Speakers include Clare Daly TD, Senator Ivana Bacik and journalist Colette Browne.

When: Saturday, 30th of June
Where: Starts at the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square
Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/DublinPride

March with the Irish Feminist Network in the Dublin Pride Parade 2012!
The Dublin Pride Festival, organised this year by Dublin L.G.B.T.Q. Pride Ltd, starts this June the 22nd, and culminates in the Dublin Pride Parade on the 30th of June 2012.

For more information on the history of the Pride Marches, see Stonewall riots

Dublin Pride has three core values which it aims to promote through the festival:

Celebrating Diversity
Not only to tolerate, but to accept and celebrate diversity with the understanding that it is our differences which make us extraordinary.

Inclusiveness
To seek out those who are on the fringes and to take practical, concrete steps to ensure their inclusion in society.

Increased Visibility & Mutual Respect
To increase the visibility of the Dublin LGBTQ community within the wider Dublin, Irish and global community while communicating the message of mutual respect; to appreciate others for what they are, for how they are different and to respect them for such.

See the Dublin Pride website for more info, http://www.dublinpride.ie/

Want to march with us? Please email irishfeministnetwork@gmail.com