Charles Coulombe on May 25

The Portugese had 2 Referenda on legalising abortion but their system is a bit different from our own. In 1997 it was voted down and about 10 years ago they reversed that decision but didn't get a high enough threshold to change the law. I think parliament then went ahead and legislated for a law similar to our own.


On a more positive note the Portugese parliament recently voted down a Euthanasia law when the Communist party surprisingly voted against the measure ensuring it didn't pass.

The Irish people were not asked to vote for abortion . They voted Yes to feel good about being caring and compassionate. The together for Yes campaign ordered that even the word Choice should not be used too frequently lest it scare soft Yes voters. Only one Yes poster use the word Abortion and that was to claim 170,000 were forced to go to the UK to abort.


Emotivism swung the Repeal Referendum. People were persuaded by a campaign based on "positive" feel good factors which never ever mentioned the shameful reality. When faced with a feel good, story telling, pastel shaded ,virtue signalling roller coaster two thirds of those who voted bought the propaganda and ignored all those future citizens we will terminate on our soil.

I felt bad about voting No even though it was the right decision. Perhaps it was knowing I was in a minority or more likely I was depressed we were taking such a terrible terrible step into the abyss.

I was using Emotivism as used by Alasdair Mac Intryre where a subjective use of feelings is used in an ethical discussion as an alternative to rational argument.
The No campaign also used emotional language and imagery but also tried to address a reality that the cost of responding to unwanted pregnancies as advocated by the Yes side would be to create another much greater objective social evil.

The Yes side largely ignored the actual process they sought to legalise. They didn't even seek to minimise it, they just kept talking about 12 year old rape victims and how cruel it was to force them to give birth to a rapists child. This highly dishonest emotional (and emotivist!) appeal was highly sucessful , much more than an appeal to reason it would seem.

I also suspect the Yes campaign did some very clever research into how to get undecided people to vote for something that they weren't particularly enthusiastic about.

Of course there were strong feelings on both sides but I don't know how you can arbitrate whose feelings were the most valid either as you point out. Whose feelings were hurt the most? It doesn't really matter any way as the will of the people is now clear....

It's interesting to see where the opposition can come from at times...I read a paper recently delivered a while ago, back in the 90s,I think, AGAINST euthanasia by Norfolk Islander-author Colleen McCullough (The Thorn Birds),a complete humanist. She started it off by saying that she saw nothing from a religious perspective.

I very rarely correct spelling and grammar on this forum.

I didn't hear anything about them visiting, so I imagine not.

I would have loved to grovel at the feet of my social superiors. Blasted missed opportunity!