Thousands march for change in Irish abortion law

Thousands of people marched through the streets of Dublin on Saturday in the first major demonstration against Ireland’s long-standing ban on abortion.

The BBC reported Saturday that tens of thousands of demonstrators marched through the streets of Dublin protesting what are some of the strongest abortion laws in Europe. The Eighth Amendment of Ireland’s Constitution prohibits abortion unless the mother’s life is in danger.

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Hundreds of Irish women head to other countries including Britain for abortions, according to The Irish Times. Saturday’s march was organized by the Abortion Rights Campaign, the Coalition to Repeal the 8th, and the Union of Students in Ireland.

Pictures of the march on social media showed demonstrators with signs reading “time to repeal” and “Repeal the 8th.” Organizers said that 30,000 people attended the rally, the Times reported.

It’s time to repeal.#repealthe8th #ARCMarch17 #March4Choice pic.twitter.com/fw2RBlfrj9

— Laura Byrne (@LolsyByrne) September 30, 2017

Demonstrators chanted “My body my choice” and “Hey hey, Leo, the Eighth Amendment has to go,” directed at Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s decision to hold a referendum on the issue next summer.

Former politician Bernadette Devlin McAliskey spoke to demonstrators at a rally on the steps of Ireland’s Parliament and told the crowd that the country’s abortion laws are dated.

“It’s unbelievable that we’re still here asking for something we asked for almost 50 years ago, demanding something we demanded almost 50 years ago,” McAliskey said.

“We expect, and we demand, and we are entitled to exercise the same bodily integrity as every other human being on the face of this planet,” she added.

Solidarity marches were held in dozens of cities around the world Saturday, London, Sydney and Nicosia.