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| Support for Ireland's abortion ban appears to have melted away | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Ruth Shaw was one of hundreds, perhaps thousands of Irish voters who flew home or stayed home, cancelled holidays or came back early, so they could cast a vote to end Ireland’s decades-old ban on abortion. | Ruth Shaw was one of hundreds, perhaps thousands of Irish voters who flew home or stayed home, cancelled holidays or came back early, so they could cast a vote to end Ireland’s decades-old ban on abortion. |
| They thought their votes might be needed to tip the balance. In the end, though, they joined what seems to be an unforeseen landslide of support for change. | They thought their votes might be needed to tip the balance. In the end, though, they joined what seems to be an unforeseen landslide of support for change. |
| The first exit poll, from the Irish Time/Ipsos MRBI, showed that Dublin, as expected, had voted overwhelmingly for yes. But so too did rural areas, which the no vote had counted on to form a bulwark of conservative support for Ireland’s restrictive status quo. | The first exit poll, from the Irish Time/Ipsos MRBI, showed that Dublin, as expected, had voted overwhelmingly for yes. But so too did rural areas, which the no vote had counted on to form a bulwark of conservative support for Ireland’s restrictive status quo. |
| Voters had to help Ireland decide whether to keep a clause in its constitution, known as the 8th amendment. | Voters had to help Ireland decide whether to keep a clause in its constitution, known as the 8th amendment. |
| Since 1983, it had put the “right to life of the unborn” on an equal status with the life of a pregnant woman, underpinning a near-total ban on abortion in Ireland, even in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormality. It is one of the strictest set of rules in the western world. | Since 1983, it had put the “right to life of the unborn” on an equal status with the life of a pregnant woman, underpinning a near-total ban on abortion in Ireland, even in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormality. It is one of the strictest set of rules in the western world. |
| For Shaw who along with 20 family and friends had flights lined up to go to a wedding in New York when the date was set, there was no question about what to do. | For Shaw who along with 20 family and friends had flights lined up to go to a wedding in New York when the date was set, there was no question about what to do. |
| “We changed our flights,” she said. “It’s really important; I’ve got two daughters.” So at 6.55am she was waiting with nine-year-old Simi outside Our Lady’s Clonskeagh Parish secondary school, second in line to cast her vote before heading to the airport. | “We changed our flights,” she said. “It’s really important; I’ve got two daughters.” So at 6.55am she was waiting with nine-year-old Simi outside Our Lady’s Clonskeagh Parish secondary school, second in line to cast her vote before heading to the airport. |
| On a day of glorious sunshine and heightened emotions, polling stations across Ireland were reporting high turnouts in a ballot that politicians and campaigners have said they expect to set the country’s position on abortion for at least a generation. | |
| In the north Dublin suburb of Finglas, locals said older voters had travelled from nursing homes to the polls, and one centenarian couple turned up to cast their ballot together. | In the north Dublin suburb of Finglas, locals said older voters had travelled from nursing homes to the polls, and one centenarian couple turned up to cast their ballot together. |
| Polls narrowed in the run-up to voting, with the outcome widely expected to depend on the one in six voters who were still undecided on the eve of the poll. Many in the no camp were convinced they had a groundswell of quiet support. | |
| “So many no voters are shy,” said Fidelma, 45, a Dubliner who said she was wearing a no badge for the first time, and was surprised to find more than half her small office of 10 people offering her support. | “So many no voters are shy,” said Fidelma, 45, a Dubliner who said she was wearing a no badge for the first time, and was surprised to find more than half her small office of 10 people offering her support. |
| She had kept her views private until the day of the referendum because there was so much social pressure in the capital to support a repeal. “People make us feel like we are backwards and don’t count,” she said. | She had kept her views private until the day of the referendum because there was so much social pressure in the capital to support a repeal. “People make us feel like we are backwards and don’t count,” she said. |
| Whatever the result, she said, politicians from the major parties had permanently damaged their relationship with voters who oppose abortions. “People will never forgive the politicians,” she said. “I’m so upset that we are even having to vote on human rights being taken away from the most vulnerable.” | Whatever the result, she said, politicians from the major parties had permanently damaged their relationship with voters who oppose abortions. “People will never forgive the politicians,” she said. “I’m so upset that we are even having to vote on human rights being taken away from the most vulnerable.” |
| The campaign had become increasingly polarised and acrimonious in the final stretch. A manager at Nowhere, a boutique in central Dublin, said he arrived at work the day before the vote to find fake blood splashed over a “together for yes” logo in the window. | The campaign had become increasingly polarised and acrimonious in the final stretch. A manager at Nowhere, a boutique in central Dublin, said he arrived at work the day before the vote to find fake blood splashed over a “together for yes” logo in the window. |
| There was also controversy over online targeting, with Google pledging to shut off all advertising related to the election, and Facebook promising to bar all purchases of political ads from outside Ireland. Neither has been entirely successful. | There was also controversy over online targeting, with Google pledging to shut off all advertising related to the election, and Facebook promising to bar all purchases of political ads from outside Ireland. Neither has been entirely successful. |
| The split over abortion, which reflects deep divisions about what kind of country Ireland wants to be as it reassesses its Catholic heritage and becomes more ethnically and religiously diverse, has reached deeply into communities and families. | The split over abortion, which reflects deep divisions about what kind of country Ireland wants to be as it reassesses its Catholic heritage and becomes more ethnically and religiously diverse, has reached deeply into communities and families. |
| Elizabeth McDonald, 58, said: “I voted no because I think I regard it as murder. We don’t need abortion in this country.” | Elizabeth McDonald, 58, said: “I voted no because I think I regard it as murder. We don’t need abortion in this country.” |
| Her son Stephen, 33, thinks the near-ban on abortion is cruel and puts women’s health in jeopardy. It is not illegal to go abroad for an abortion, so about nine women a day travel to England seeking treatment. Others order abortion pills online and take them at home, risking up to 14 years in prison. | Her son Stephen, 33, thinks the near-ban on abortion is cruel and puts women’s health in jeopardy. It is not illegal to go abroad for an abortion, so about nine women a day travel to England seeking treatment. Others order abortion pills online and take them at home, risking up to 14 years in prison. |
| “I’m her son, and I voted yes,” he said, as they left the polling station together. “Abortions do happen in Ireland, and I’d rather they were in a situation where it was safer for women.” | “I’m her son, and I voted yes,” he said, as they left the polling station together. “Abortions do happen in Ireland, and I’d rather they were in a situation where it was safer for women.” |
| The journeys for abortions were the reason Ian Sewell, 26, travelled back from England to vote yes. “At the end of the day, I don’t think we are voting on whether people can have abortions; we are voting on whether poor women can have abortions, because rich people already travel to England,” he said as he left a polling station. | The journeys for abortions were the reason Ian Sewell, 26, travelled back from England to vote yes. “At the end of the day, I don’t think we are voting on whether people can have abortions; we are voting on whether poor women can have abortions, because rich people already travel to England,” he said as he left a polling station. |
| On the streets of central Dublin, taking care to stay more than 50 metres away from polling booths, campaigners from both sides were trying to persuade a final few voters. Their targets were people such as Thomas, 20, who was registered to vote but still uncertain by midday about whether he would do so. | On the streets of central Dublin, taking care to stay more than 50 metres away from polling booths, campaigners from both sides were trying to persuade a final few voters. Their targets were people such as Thomas, 20, who was registered to vote but still uncertain by midday about whether he would do so. |
| “I do have an opinion on it, and if I vote it will be no,” he said, waiting for friends near a park. “I was born from what some people would call a mistake, so this might get [people like] me aborted.” | “I do have an opinion on it, and if I vote it will be no,” he said, waiting for friends near a park. “I was born from what some people would call a mistake, so this might get [people like] me aborted.” |
| There are hundreds of thousands of eligible voters who will not cast a ballot. Emmet Mccaley, 39, said his 19-year-old daughter had tried hard to persuade him to vote yes, but he refused to break the habit of a lifetime. “I’ve never voted, it was a choice I made years ago, so I don’t quibble and question about politics,” he said. | There are hundreds of thousands of eligible voters who will not cast a ballot. Emmet Mccaley, 39, said his 19-year-old daughter had tried hard to persuade him to vote yes, but he refused to break the habit of a lifetime. “I’ve never voted, it was a choice I made years ago, so I don’t quibble and question about politics,” he said. |
| On Friday, the prime minister, Leo Varadkar, who has campaigned for a yes vote, said the high turnout was cause for optimism. “Not taking anything for granted, of course, but quietly confident,” he told reporters. “There has been a good turnout so far across the country.” | On Friday, the prime minister, Leo Varadkar, who has campaigned for a yes vote, said the high turnout was cause for optimism. “Not taking anything for granted, of course, but quietly confident,” he told reporters. “There has been a good turnout so far across the country.” |
| Several no voters blamed his pledge to follow up a yes vote with relatively liberal abortion legislation, allowing terminations up to 12 weeks, for their decision. | Several no voters blamed his pledge to follow up a yes vote with relatively liberal abortion legislation, allowing terminations up to 12 weeks, for their decision. |
| Brigid Hickey, 66, said: “Certainly, something needs to be done for the hard cases, but the minute they said 12 weeks, they lost me.” | Brigid Hickey, 66, said: “Certainly, something needs to be done for the hard cases, but the minute they said 12 weeks, they lost me.” |
| There have been echoes in some parts of the no campaign of the anti-establishment populism that played a role in the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s 2016 US presidential election victory. | There have been echoes in some parts of the no campaign of the anti-establishment populism that played a role in the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s 2016 US presidential election victory. |
| John McGuirk, the communications director of the anti-repeal Save The 8th campaign, said: “One of the great things about democracy is that the government, media, corporate Ireland and a bunch of Hollywood actors can all line up on one side, and you can quietly toddle into a ballot box and vote for them all to fuck off, as I’m about to do.” | John McGuirk, the communications director of the anti-repeal Save The 8th campaign, said: “One of the great things about democracy is that the government, media, corporate Ireland and a bunch of Hollywood actors can all line up on one side, and you can quietly toddle into a ballot box and vote for them all to fuck off, as I’m about to do.” |
| For many no voters, the victories of unfancied campaigns across the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean are a source of inspiration; for yes supporters, they are a cause for concern. | For many no voters, the victories of unfancied campaigns across the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean are a source of inspiration; for yes supporters, they are a cause for concern. |
| Polls close at 10pm on Friday. With votes not counted until Saturday, and the result possibly not clear until the afternoon, Ireland has a long wait. | Polls close at 10pm on Friday. With votes not counted until Saturday, and the result possibly not clear until the afternoon, Ireland has a long wait. |
| Riodhna Mackin, 18, voting for the first time and proud to cast her ballot for yes, said she was trying to stay optimistic. | Riodhna Mackin, 18, voting for the first time and proud to cast her ballot for yes, said she was trying to stay optimistic. |
| “I am a young woman in Ireland, and I would like to have a say over my own body, and for my friends to have the same,” she said. “But I don’t think you can know [the result] for sure.” | “I am a young woman in Ireland, and I would like to have a say over my own body, and for my friends to have the same,” she said. “But I don’t think you can know [the result] for sure.” |
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