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Being Pro-Life Doesn't Make Me a Knuckle-Dragger

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Being Pro-Life Doesn't Make Me a Knuckle-Dragger 2 The Sunday Times May 27, 2018 The Sunday Times May 27, 2018 3 NEWS ABORTION REFERENDUM NEWS The ‘no’ side did not budge — until the tide turned to ‘yes’ CHARLES McQUILLAN, MAX ROSSI, CLODAGH KILCOYNE NIALL CARSON, MAX ROSSI Spin doctor Tony Heffernan feels Global citizens head ‘yes’ side made better pitch to undecided while ‘no’ campaigners home to have their say BRYAN MEADE preached only to the converted Eithne Shortall Hazel Nolan got a Ryanair Stephen O’Brien Political Editor the eighth to cover the ‘hard cases’. It was voucher from her sister for a clever pitch because it would have had Christmas. The 20-year-old When Tony Heffernan, a public-affairs an appeal to people who wanted to UCD student, currently on consultant and former Labour Party repeal the eighth but were anxious about an Erasmus year in Berlin, strategist, heard leading “no” campaign- the government’s proposed legislation. decided then that the present ers contemplating abortion in certain “Of course it was a bit rich of the ‘no’ would be kept until the time circumstances, he knew the campaign campaign because, if this had been came to vote. was slipping from their grip. defeated and the government came back “As soon as the date was A veteran of dozens of Workers’ Party, with a revised proposal, the same people announced I went straight Democratic Left and Labour Party would have been opposed to it still.” online and booked it,” said election and referendum campaigns, The former deputy government press Nolan, who flew home to Heffernan’s political antennae detected a officer had been impressed with Dublin for the weekend to strategic shift in message from Love Both, elements of the “no” campaign. Their key vote yes. Her sister, in Save the 8th and other anti-repealers media performers, such as Maria Steen London, did the same. with about a week left in the campaign. and Cora Sherlock, were very profes- “It’s going to be the most Leah Grant from Tramore returned from Spain to vote On RTE’s Today with Seán O’Rourke on sional and used studio airtime very well, important referendum of our May 17, Katie Ascough of the Love Both he thought. lifetime so we could not miss He cobbled together “a really people did try to vote and campaign acknowledged that the “no” Organisationally, the “no” side was it. There were people coming shoddy website” in an hour- they were over the 18 months campaign was meeting resistance on door- streets ahead of the “yes” lobby in the from a lot further than I did. and-a=half. It was called that there would be steps regarding the issue of abortion in early days, with thousands of posters It’s not even a two-hour flight GetTheBoatToVote.com. challenges to the result if it cases of rape and fatal foetal abnormality. going up around the country over the from Berlin, so I felt I couldn’t The initial intention was for was a tight ‘yes’,” said “I am not here to convince listeners Easter weekend at the beginning of April; just sit at home when it was a group of friends to take the Kavanagh. The Home to Vote that abortion in every circumstances is the “yes” posters did not appear until going on.” train and ferry from London campaigners in London were wrong,” Ascough said on the pro- two or three weeks later. But much of the Nolan wasn’t the only one. to Ireland, but the movement warning people who had gramme. “I have been canvassing on the “no” campaign — the posters and online Last week social media was quickly grew beyond England gone over the year-and-a=half doors and on the street, and I know material in particular — addressed their aside earlier reservations and would A campaigner flooded with photographs of and boats. limit to be aware of the rules. people are really wrestling with the hard core support and not the undecided now support the government’s 12-week weeps at a mural individuals and groups flying “I was getting emails from While the hashtag was very cases and some people want abortion voters who were struggling to under- abortion proposal. showing Savita home to cast their ballot. people in the States, people much a “yes” invention in the only for those hard cases.” stand the issues. Mairead McGuinness, her party col- Halappanavar, Voters returned from as far as came from Australia, so to 2015 referendum campaign, A day later, Anne Rabbitte, a Fianna “I was doubtful about the approach of league and MEP, issued a statement above, whose death Los Angeles, Sydney and try to reflect the way people “no” voters also made the Fail TD for Galway East, told The Irish the ‘no’ campaign — it seemed to me that supporting repeal of the eighth. Fianna during pregnancy in Bangkok, while there were so were travelling we changed journey home this time. Times she did not share the view that the vast majority of their posters were Fail backbencher James Lawless said that an Irish hospital is many Repeal garments on it to Home to Vote in the last Sarah Gillespie, also a UCD abortions should be prohibited in all aimed at their own base, aimed at people his personal pro-life view remained seen as a catalyst certain London flights, they couple of weeks,” said student, voted no on Friday. circumstances. Rabbitte, who opposed who were already firmly convinced on unchanged but he could no longer force for the campaign to looked like they’d been Kavanagh. “The flights She was on a semester abroad abortion up to 12 weeks at the Oireachtas this issue,” said Heffernan. that view on others. repeal the eighth. chartered by the “yes” side. booked out and that seems to in Pennsylvania when the committee on the eighth, said an amend- “Both sides had research that showed Heffernan said the decision of Fianna Leo Varadkar Nolan flew home with two have happened even sooner referendum date was ment to the constitution to allow for roughly 35% were convinced ‘yes’, 35% Fail leader Micheál Martin to take a stand addressed a rally friends also studying in this time around.” announced. She had these cases should be the proposition convinced ‘no’ and 30% in the middle, against the position of the majority of outside the count Berlin. “There were a lot of It’s impossible to tell just intended to stay in America before the people, not the blanket repeal and I think the ‘yes’ campaign made his parliamentary party “took a degree of at Dublin Castle, other people in Repeal how many people came until next month to speak to of the section. more of a pitch for that middle ground Pro-choice amendment Eamon Ó Cuív, a former deputy leader 87% of the citizens’ assembly backed courage” and was a significant develop- promising to move jumpers and wearing badges, home to vote, or what role people about doing a PhD Last Tuesday, Éamon Ó Cuív, another than the ‘no’ side did until the very end, campaigners predicted by exit of Fianna Fail, objected to the role of the repeal of the eighth amendment, The ment before the campaign proper got legislation on who we just got talking to. this cohort played in after her degree, but felt it Fianna Fail TD, argued that a “no” vote where they almost pivoted from being celebrate for polls would be citizens’ assembly just as he had opposed result of the referendum is not 87% to under way. abortion before the There are a lot of Irish people repealing the eighth was more important to come would not prevent the issue of abortion Save the 8th to Amend the 8th. And, like ‘yes’ outside the borne out by the Kenny’s use of its forerunner, the consti- 13%. It hasn’t been hugely successful for Despite forecasts of a close-fought bat- end of the year in Berlin anyway, and they amendment, but the Home to home to Donegal and have in hard cases — such as pregnancy in the Yes Equality campaign [for same-sex count at Dublin referendum tutional convention, which laid the mirroring what the people will do in a tle over abortion legislation this autumn, were all going home for the Vote hashtag was used twice her say. She knows other instances of rape or fatal foetal abnormal- marriage], the personal stories — of Castle, once it result across groundwork for same-sex marriage. “We referendum.” Ó Cuív said there was no doubt the gov- same reason,” she said. as often on Twitter in the “no” voters who made the ities — being revisited again after the women who had fatal foetal abnormali- was clear the almost the whole have a citizens’ assembly and we call it Ó Cuív said while “no” campaign post- ernment would have the numbers in the The Home to Vote week before this referendum journey home. current campaign. ties or major health fears — made a large majority country; left, Dail Eireann,” he said. “It started back in ers may have been erected first, the Dail and Seanad to get an act through. movement began on social compared with the seven Gillespie believes the On Wednesday night on TV3, Declan huge impact.” for the repeal a car decorated 1919 and is still there. It is a much more “yes” campaign had “more money and “The government has a massive major- media in the run-up to the days ahead of the 2015 vote. Home to Vote movement Ganley, a businessman and a campaigner For Heffernan, however, the process of of the eighth for ‘yes’ accurate reflection of what people think.
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