Intersectionality, Repeal, and Reproductive Rights in Ireland

Shreya Atrey and Peter Dunne (eds), Intersectionality and Human Rights, Forthcoming

24 Pages Posted: 8 Nov 2019

See all articles by Fiona de Londras

Fiona de Londras

Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham, UK; ANU College of Law

Date Written: October 29, 2019

Abstract

In this chapter, I reflect on the ways in which reproductive activism might be said to have failed in its intersectionality during the formal referendum campaign to repeal the 8th Amendment in Ireland and, in particular, on the ways in which the formal processes of constitutional law reform that had to be negotiated in order to achieve meaningful reform and liberalisation of abortion law shaped these failures. My intention in this chapter is not to contribute in any substantial way to our evolving understanding of intersectionality and intersectional practice, but rather to reflect on the ways in which a self-avowedly intersectional and intergenerational activism for abortion law reform in Ireland may have fallen short of that avowel within the formal process of constitutional law reform as it operates in Ireland. The chapter proceeds in three parts. First, I reflect on the referendum campaign itself and particularly on some of the tactical maneuvers of the campaign relevant to the question of intersectionality. Second, I illustrate some of the ways in which the new law and its operation fail adequately to deliver reproductive justice to all with a particular focus on trans and non-binary persons, and migrants living in Ireland. Third, I will reflect on the difficulties of intersectionality in constitutional referendum campaigns.

Keywords: Abortion, Intersectionality, Repeal, Constitutional Law, Ireland, Irish Law, Reproductive Rights, Reproductive Justice

JEL Classification: K00, K19, K30

Suggested Citation

de Londras, Fiona, Intersectionality, Repeal, and Reproductive Rights in Ireland (October 29, 2019). Shreya Atrey and Peter Dunne (eds), Intersectionality and Human Rights, Forthcoming, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3477119 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3477119

Fiona De Londras (Contact Author)

Birmingham Law School, University of Birmingham, UK ( email )

Edgbaston
Birmingham, AL B15 2TT
United Kingdom

HOME PAGE: http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/schools/law/staff/profile.aspx?ReferenceId=99740

ANU College of Law ( email )

Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601
Australia

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