Two women have live tweeted their journey from the Republic of Ireland to the United Kingdom to have an abortion, to protest the country’s strict reproductive laws.
The pair — one who was seeking the abortion and the other travelling with her for support — sent their first tweet on Saturday.
The women continued to share photos and messages throughout the three-day trip, accompanied by #TwoWomenTravel.
They also used #RepealThe8th — a reference to the eighth amendment of Ireland’s constitution, which makes abortion illegal except where a mother’s life is at risk.
The tweets tagged Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny, with the women suggesting he might like to “hit us back the taxi fare” between clinics after an “unexpected venue change”, and asking where he was watching the Olympic Games from.
While Mr Kenny did not respond, Irish Health Minister Simon Harris, from Mr Kenny’s Fine Gael party, tweeted in support of the women.
The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) reports at least 166,951 women have travelled from Ireland to other countries to access abortion services since 1980, most of them to the UK.
In 2015 alone, 3,451 — or nine people each day — travelled to the UK from Ireland to have the procedure, the IFPA said, citing UK Health Department figures.
In 2012, dentist Savita Halappanavar died after she was repeatedly refused an abortion. The 31-year-old was 17 weeks pregnant when she began to miscarry. She died of blood poisoning in hospital.
Her death sparked outcry and fresh debate over the controversial laws.
“We had to travel because our government insists that we pretend this isn’t happening,” the women wrote after their journey came to an end.
“We defy the Irish Government to ignore us and we defy our Taoiseach Enda Kenny to avoid this conversation.
“No-one should have to share as private a thing as an abortion, but I’m in awe of women who do. Ireland has abandoned them and us all,” Mullally wrote on Twitter.
Ireland’s Annual March for Choice will take place on September 24 in Dublin.
This post originally appeared on ABC News.
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Top Comments
To me it is odd that:
in Australia, you can terminate a pregnancy but not marry your same-sex partner, and
in Ireland, you can marry your same-sex partner, but not terminate a pregnancy.
What a bizarre world.