Repealed: Ireland’s Unfinished Fight for Reproductive Rights

*Winner of the James S. Donnelly, Sr. Prize 2022*

In Ireland, 2018, a constitutional ban that equated the life of a woman to the life of a fertilized embryo was overturned and abortion was finally legalized. This victory for the Irish feminist movement set the country alight with euphoria. But the celebrations were short-lived - the new legislation turned out to be one of the most conservative in Europe. This book tells the story of the ‘Repeal’ campaign through the lens of the activists.

The authors trace the shocking history of the origins of the eighth amendment, which was drawn up in fear of a tide of liberal reforms across Europe. They draw out the lessons learned through the decades and from the groundbreaking campaign in 2018, which was an inspiring example of modern grassroots activism. They also recount the tensions between a medicalized approach and reproductive justice approach to abortion, as well as the harsh effect of the campaign on the health of activists.

Grounded in a radical feminist politics, this book is an honest and inspirational account of a movement that is only just beginning.

Camilla Fitzsimons works in the Department of Adult and Community Education at Maynooth University. She is the author of Community Education and Neoliberalism (Palgrave, 2017) and is on the editorial board of the peer-reviewed journal Studies in the Education of Adults. She is also guest editor for the European Journal of Social Science Education (2020).

Sinead Kennedy is the co-founder of The Coalition to Repeal the Eighth and an executive member of Together for Yes. She works in the Department of English at Maynooth University. She is the co-editor of The Abortion Papers, Ireland, and has written for publications including Jacobin.