We spoke to these people in Dublin airport as thousands of citizens come #hometovote in Ireland's abortion referendum
#8threfpic.twitter.com/QssAojgKYd
AS IRELAND BEGINS voting in a historic referendum on whether to repeal or retain the Eighth Amendment, international media organisations have been weighing in on the issue.
In the past few days, TV stations, newspapers and other media outlets from around the world have covered Ireland’s abortion laws and questioned whether they will vote for change or to keep the laws as they are.
Yesterday, a spokesperson for Together For Yes told TheJournal.ie that the organisation had been receiving a number of calls from journalists from around the world. She said that some of them expressed shock at Ireland’s current abortion laws, which allow it only when the mother’s life is at risk.
There have been many reports from around the world about today’s referendum – here’s a flavour of what’s being said.
Source: Guardian
The Guardian has our referendum as the main story across its homepage. It called the campaign “polarised and often acrimonious” and said that the result would:
“…either confirm Ireland on its journey from a conservative Catholic country to a socially liberal one, or indicate that social reforms over recent decades have reached their limit.”
Ireland votes on whether to repeal abortion banhttps://t.co/eGduNu13OXpic.twitter.com/74PfpKwuJx
— AFP news agency (@AFP) May 25, 2018 Source: AFP news agency/TwitterInternational news agency AFP did a video package ahead of the referendum today.
In its written piece, it said that Irish citizens were to vote “in a landmark referendum on whether the traditionally Catholic country should liberalise some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe”.
Source: TIME
TIME magazine went a bit further, saying that Ireland was “more likely than ever before” to change “one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world”.
CNN news said that the abortion issue had ”divided the country”.
Source: Sam Boal via RollingNews.ie
One of the largest news agencies in the world, Reuters had this to say about Ireland:
“Unlike in 1983, when religion was front and centre and abortion was a taboo subject for most people, the campaign was instead defined by women on both sides publicly describing their personal experiences of terminations.”