Almost 90 per cent of people support a change in Ireland’s strict abortion laws, a new poll has found.
A Red C survey for Amnesty International, which has campaigned for greater access to abortion, also found 38 per cent of respondents supported a woman’s right to choose to end a pregnancy in any circumstance, an increase of 10 percentage points from 2011.
Forty-nine per cent supported access to abortion in certain circumstances, 7 per cent wanted to keep the law as it is and 5 per cent of people said they were totally against abortion.
Eighty-seven per cent wanted a change in the law. These consisted of 38 per cent of people who thought women should have a right to termination “as they choose”; 42 per cent who would permit terminations in cases of rape, incest, fatal foetal abnormalities or a threat to the woman’s health; and 7 per cent who would allow them in cases of fatal foetal abnormality only.
Seven per cent were in favour of leaving the law as it is, to allow abortion only where the woman’s life was at risk, while 5 per cent would change the law to forbid terminations in any circumstance.
Advertisement
Almost a third of those surveyed said they were afraid to speak openly about their opinion because they feared verbal abuse.
The poll, taken in the last days of the general election campaign, found the majority of people wanted a referendum on the repeal of the Eighth Amendment.
Seventy-three per cent of the 1,004 respondents would like a vote on the controversial legislation in which the life of the mother is considered equal to the life of the unborn foetus, and 63 per cent believed politicians should “show leadership” on the issue.
Colm O’Gorman, the executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, said TDs could no longer claim that abortion was too divisive to be addressed in the next Dail. “Please don’t spin that narrative again,” he said.
“If we have paralysis on forming a government over the next month, you’re talking about 330 women and girls travelling to the UK in that time. If we have another year of inaction, we’re talking about 4,000 women and girls forced to leave this country to access a health intervention that people in this state understand they have a human right to access.”
Advertisement
He added that the poll would “lay to rest” the myth that the Irish public only support changing legislation for women who experienced fatal foetal abnormalities, and nobody else.
“Only 7 per cent of people who responded to this poll would be satisfied with such an arrangement. 80 per cent of people in Ireland want to see safe and legal access to abortion for all women and girls, at the very least where there’s a risk to the life and health of the woman, in cases of pregnancies as the result of rape or incest or in cases of fatal foetal abnormality,” he said.
Abortion is illegal in Ireland except in extremely limited circumstances where the woman’s life is under substantial risk, including a risk of suicide. Terminating a pregnancy in all other circumstances, including those resulting from rape or incest, is punishable by 14 years in prison. The survey found that 72 per cent of people believe abortion should be decriminalised in Ireland, but 37 per cent mistakenly thought abortion laws could be liberalised without repealing the Eighth Amendment.
Respondents were asked extensive questions on the role of religion in forming people’s views on abortion. One in five of those who identified as religious said they had “very conflicted” views on abortion because of their faith.
Those most trusted as sources of information on abortion were medical professionals and women who had experienced abortion, the least trusted were anti-abortion groups, the church, the media and politicians.
Advertisement
Enda Kenny had said he would set up a citizen’s forum to consider the need for a referendum on Ireland’s abortion laws within six months of Fine Gael being returned to power. Fianna Fail does not have a clear position on abortion. The party had said it was in favour of a referendum in theory, but would not be campaigning to offer one to the public.
Clare Daly, the independent TD for Dublin North, said politicians were out of touch with public opinion on abortion. “The attitudes run deeper and it’s not just about the hard cases. People are increasingly of the view that it’s a matter for a woman and her doctor and that’s the really positive thing about the poll.
“I think politicians really need to inform themselves of this because what the survey also says is that politicians have a huge credibility problem on this issue so they need to wake up and catch up,” she added.