In Ireland's abortion debate, a struggle to correct past paternalism?
When Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar announced a referendum that could relax one of the most restrictive regimes for abortion in Europe, his nod to women’s rights was clear.
“I believe this is a decision about whether we want to continue to stigmatize and criminalize our sisters, our co-workers, and our friends. Or whether we are prepared to make a collective act of leadership to show empathy and compassion,” he said this January.
The announcement came in the months following the #MeToo movement that swept across the West, and the referendum was seen as another gain for women’s empowerment, as well as a next step in a long process of social liberalization in Catholic
‘Always has been divisive, always will be divisive’History and empathy
