Divided We Fail: Reproductive Rights & LGBTQ Activism in Ireland

Ireland achieved trans gender protections and same-sex marriage in 2015, several years before on-demand, unrestricted access to abortion (2019). This phenomenon is unlike most countries, which achieve reproductive rights first. In Ireland, reproductive and family rights were slow to arrive, contraceptives (without a prescription) was legalised in 1992, divorce in 1995, and from 1983-2018, there was a constitutional ban on all abortion, excluding instances where the life of the mother was threatened.
This project seeks to understand why LGBTQ-related rights arrived first, and the role of activism in this progression. The research will primarily include archival work and interviews with activists, and incorporate feminist theory to understand why Ireland is an outlier. Suspected findings are that same-sex marriage was first-framed as an equality issue, while reproduction was considered a moral concern. The research will show that through utilizing the “equality” framework of LGBTQ activism, reproductive freedom was finally realized.

Faculty Supervisor:

Emer O'Toole

Student:

Partner:

University College Dublin

Discipline:

Sociology

Sector:

Education

University:

Concordia University

Program: