Part of me won't believe it until the final numbers come from Dublin Castle, but let's face it, the polls would have to be pretty impressively wrong if the 8th Amendment will continue to be the law of the land for another generation.
I'm so proud of Ireland for choosing to trust all of it's citizens, but I'm especially proud of @rowfas who has poured her heart and soul into this campaign over the last few months.
Frankly the random stuff I've gotten her as a birthday present pales in the comparison to what the nation has given her, and every other person who can get pregnant, regardless of how they identify.
If the polls hold true, we'll have gone from a nation that shames people who need a termination, to one that is *wildly* pro-choice.
People said that the Citizens Assembly proposals were too liberal. Seems like they were right on the money.
People said that the Citizens Assembly proposals were too liberal. Seems like they were right on the money.
This isn't over of course.
Actual ballots will need to be counted, the result will need to go past the inevitable frivolous legal challenge, and after both those things, we still need to deal with the little matter of actually getting legislation in place to regulate the termination of pregnancy.
The usual suspects will fight it, and attempt to water down the proposals, to introduce amendments restricting the availability of healthcare despite the clear signal of the people of Ireland.
But I hope now that after the marriage equality referendum and today's referendum, people will call out Senator Rónán Mullen, David Quinn and the Iona Institute for what they are.
They are *not* voices of a silent majority. They are *not* an oppressed group of people having a way of life foisted upon them. They are the extreme fringe of Irish Society who long for a past that Ireland should be ashamed of.
They represent the Magdalene Laundries, the unmarked graves in Tuam and the decades of child abuse perpetrated by priests, complicit with church leadership who *to this very day* go unpunished.
But there can no longer be any doubt that the mainstream of Ireland is the caring and compassionate society that we want it to be and the one I want my children to grow up in, so here's to everyone who campaigned with @Together4yes and for everyone who voted Yes today. Thank You.
