Recorded March 13, 2017.

In Ireland abortion has been a criminal offence since the Offences against the Person Act 1861. In 1983 the Eight Amendment to the Constitution was adopted to give explicit constitutional recognition to the right to life of the unborn while also affirming the equal right to life of the mother. While further amendments to the Constitution in 1992 have seen thousands of women in Ireland travel to the UK each year to have access to abortion services, the position still remains that termination of pregnancy is only permitted in Ireland where there is a real and substantial risk to the mother's life.

In the wake of International Women’s Day and as debates around the Eighth Amendment continue, this panel discussion will explore how this highly emotive and deeply personal, legal, moral and ethical issue finds its roots in historical and religious approaches to unborn life and women’s bodies in modern Ireland, the contemporary legal cases pertaining to abortion and the prevalence and impact of crisis pregnancies in Ireland.

Speakers:

Dr Georgina Laragy (School of Histories and Humanities, Dr Catherine Conlon (School of Social Work and Social Policy, Professor Ivana Bacik (School of Law), Professor William Binchy (School of Law) with introduction by Professor Jane Ohlmeyer (Director, Trinity Long Room Hub).

The Trinity Long Room Hub’s ‘Behind the Headlines’ discussion series offers background analyses to current issues by experts drawing on the long-term perspectives of Arts & Humanities research. It aims to provide a forum that deepens understanding, combats simplification and polarization and thus creates space for informed and respectful public discourse.

Learn more at: https://www.tcd.ie/trinitylongroomhub/