“The Enemy of the Good”: Reflections on Ireland’s New Abortion Legislation

Authors

  • Mairead Enright University of Birmingham

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22024/UniKent/03/fal.658

Keywords:

abortion, law reform, social movements, feminist activism, Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018

Abstract

This short reflection presents a personal account of the process and outcome, the achievements and disappointments of legislative reform following the Irish referendum to repeal the 8th Amendment to the Irish Constitution. While the new Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 will afford access to legal abortion to many women for the first time in Ireland, it does not meet feminist demands and is likely to exclude a range of women in difficult and marginalised circumstances. The piece reflects on the frustrations and compromises of feminist law reform and concludes that the process of abortion law reform in Ireland will be ongoing.

Author Biography

Mairead Enright, University of Birmingham

Senior Lecturer in Law, Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham, UK.

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Published

17-12-2018

How to Cite

Enright, M. (2018). “The Enemy of the Good”: Reflections on Ireland’s New Abortion Legislation. Feminists@law, 8(2). https://doi.org/10.22024/UniKent/03/fal.658

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 2 (2018)

Section

Abortion Law Reform in Ireland

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