Ruth Coppinger: Sinn Féin's Shift to the Right on Abortion Bill

So, eight years ago, we were pounding pavements, having thousands of conversations, and we won the most important right to bodily autonomy for women in this country, in history, with a grassroots movement. Now, some people seem to think that they can roll back that right. I think we're seeing signs of this even in the Dáil today in some of the discussions. I want to talk about what the government have said about legal nuances. Travelling for fatal foetal abnormality. There never should have been a distinction between fatal foetal abnormality and severe foetal abnormality in the first place. There isn't in any other country. It's unscientific, because doctors cannot, you know, with surety predict. But in other countries, it's just abnormalities. But because of cowardly and conservative politicians and to get Simon Coveney and others to agree to vote for repeal, it was put in there. And it's still not a reason to vote against the bill. So, let's be clear. Parties opposing this tonight, and politicians individually, you favour forced birth, because you're basically saying that anyone who's pregnant, outside of the strict criteria that exist, should just be forced to continue that. But also, you have the safety valve of the UK and other countries. And, you know, I was very disappointed, not a bit surprised, to be honest, to hear David Cullen and Ann saying he doesn't agree. It was actually, who cares if you don't agree? This should not be your decision to tell a pregnant woman what to do with her life and with her situation. And I found it very arrogant of you to stand there and say that. I wasn't surprised because I saw Sinn Féin rushing through a bill here last Thursday on a three-day wait. I had a bill under the three-day wait. It's great that Sinn Féin have one eight years after repeal. But I knew you were doing it. I was fearing you weren't, but my cynicism proved correct to not vote for this bill tonight. You know, you'd say, oh, we have our bill and we don't need to vote for this bill. It's cynical. It's conservative. It's a ship to the right by Sinn Féin because you supported Breed Smith's bill here in the last Dáil and now you're responding, I think, to the far right, to other individuals who gave you criticism on the vote recently and now you're circling the wagons and women's rights have to pay the price. You know, it really is shocking, but it's good to bring clarity for people as to where parties stand. So decriminalising, let's be clear, is to prevent women being criminalised as well for taking an abortion pill after 12 weeks or whatever in their bedroom. But also it's to get rid of the chilling effect which prevents doctors from acting to save lives and to save health. And also it's forcing doctors to send women abroad with abnormalities because they're not deadly sure. That's why it's decriminalising. Stop pretending that you're protecting women and really that nonsense where you try to say that it was because of that. So yeah, very disappointing to hear Sinn Féin are going to basically scopre this bill tonight. We have to put pressure on them to change tack.