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SIXTY-FOUR PER cent of people in Ireland support legislating for the X Case on abortion at the very least, according to a poll conducted by Red C for Paddy Power bookmakers.
The poll, released this afternoon, has found that over a third of the electorate or 35 per cent support the government’s decision to legislate for the X Case allowing for abortion where the mother’s life is at risk, including by suicide.
A further 29 per cent support legalising abortion in Ireland to allow for abortion in any case where a woman requests it, a move that would require a constitutional amendment and therefore a referendum.
However the poll finds that one-in-four or 26 per cent want a constitutional amendment put in place to limit the X Case legislation by excluding the threat of suicide to the mother’s life as a reason for abortion.
Eight per cent of those polled said they did not want to see any legislation for abortion in Ireland at all. In total Red C polled 1,002 adults by telephone between 7 and 9 January.
The poll finds that those in younger age groups have greater support for legalising abortion in any case while older age groups have higher than average support for limiting the X Case.
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The poll results also show stronger support among Fine Gael voters than Fianna Fáil voters for legislating for abortion in any case:
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Did those who said they wanted a referendum to remove the threat of suicide as a reason for an abortion know we have already held 2 referendums on that question and each time those voting wanted it kept?
It’s the Fianna Fáil way. Keep going til they get the answer they want.
When 1 in 4 people want something 3 in 4 don’t. So they’d lose again from these figures
Kerry I hardly think that the fact there has been 2 referendums counts at all when the youngest voters at the last referendum are now hitting menopause. Let the people any legislation would effect make a choice!
Yet more evidence to suggest that the anti-abortion view is quite, literally, dying out.
Much like the 22% of healthy babies aborted in the UK each year?
Wheres your data from?
@conor- Gavin from the Journal, funnily enough. Originally sourced from the UK Dept. of Health.
Once again, an embryo or a zygote is not a baby.
Biology teaching in this country really needs a review.
@john- funny. All the girls I’ve known who announced they were pregnant at 12 weeks…..not one of them said; I have an embryo in me that has the potential of life should I decide not to intervene. Instead they all said: I’m having a baby. How’s that for biology? Maybe you should teach them?
Yeah, maybe he should.
Just because a woman attaches the desire for the end result to the description when she announces the pregnancy doesn’t make it a baby – it means that is what she is expecting to have at the end of it.
It doesn’t change the fact that biologically it goes through stages – embryonic and foetal. During these stages it is not a “baby” it is an embryo or a foetus. Adding emotive terms to make your point is a weak argument.
@Vincent pregnant people say they are “having a baby” or “expecting a baby” a clear difference from people who have given birth who say they “have a baby”. The language actually comes down against your point.
There’s a difference between the present tense and the future tense.
The Irish state is complicit and directly responsible for the creation of needless additive psychological harm in Irish women who travel abroad for safe abortion services. Many more Irish women choose to gamble with tablets from the internet or those bought on the high street. There are the asylum seekers left in limbo if they choose an abortion. There is the well documented plight of women who are pregnant with a non-viable fetus. It is my opinion that we are forcing all these women to endure horrific experiences on account of the burdens of travel and the culture of stigma created. I feel the Irish state is entirely complicit with these health ill-effects. Furthermore I feel the Irish State is complicit in depriving Irish women of basic human rights, denying them access to safe and accessible abortion services, unlike women in almost all other international countries.
As soon this circus is over and we have legislated and regulated for the most restrictive abortion regime in the world… We need to move on quickly on to the provision of safe abortion services for all women in Ireland.
You don’t seem at all bothered if the state is complicit in the culling of the unborn, though.
So 64% of people want abortion legalised including at least the suicidal issue, can we move on and just get on with it, this is what we pay politicians to do. Time to grow balls and get on with it.
Where are you getting 64% from?
29% support “in any case” and 35% support in “including suicide”, equals 64%
To me it suggests that 35% is the max figure, like trying to add two different fractions. I would take it that of that 29%, 6% would not be in favour of it in demand and only in medical/mental cases.
Someone put me straight on this!
‘in any case’ means ‘in any case’, not ‘in a few specific cases’ James.
I am pleased to see these numbers.
It’s like if you asked 100 people do the drink beer, 8 said never, 26 only lager, 35 lager and Stout, 29 any kind of beer at all.
James, Pierce is interpreting the results correctly. If you click though to the report it is pretty unambiguous.
I’m one of the 29%.
A legal termination should be available (with appropriately legislated time constraints re: viability and exceptions for the life of the mother) to all women shoud they wish it.
Has anyone else noticed that the majority (though not all) of those commenting on The Journal that are “pro-choice” are female and the majority of those that are “pro-life” are male? I wonder, does that give any of those “pro-life” males pause for thought at all? Do they ever ask themselves why so many women of childbearing age are so strongly Pro-Choice? Maybe we have a clearer understanding of the impact on our lives of an unwanted pregnancy?
Making abortion illegal doesn’t stop it. The ONLY thing it leads to is women accessing unsafe terminations that results in suffering, proscecution and has been known to lead to death.
If you look at the opinion poll though males are more pro-choice than females. Surprisingly so when you look at the last category, who wouldn’t even legislate the right for when a mothers life is at risk.
What a strange country we live in where we make something illegal mainly due to the teachings of a discredited religious organization and even tho it’s illegal we still manage to export many thousands of this illegal act to our next door neighbour while our law makers spout on about the dangers of legalization of this procedure …..apparently the women of Ireland will be hopping on anybody to get themselves up the duff and then flooding abortion clinics as in the eyes of some of these lawmakers I it’s some sort of craze rather than a womans personal choice…silly hypocrisy and Ireland window to a church dominated past is apparently still ajar
I find it interesting to see the breakdown of the age groups it will most likely affect ie 18-34 and 35-54. I never like the way the people least potentially affected still have such influence but hey, that’s democracy!
Had an argument with someone once about whether there should be a cut off point for when a citizen is allowed vote (I was against such restrictions before the Red Thumbs come out), with his part of the debate being that those over the age of 75 (his ideal cut off point) have less of a stake in society than a 16 year old and so should be equally restricted.
The idea completely undermines democracy though, if the age gap in this poll is correct than in 15/20 years time at the latest than we will be in a position for full choice rights for women . Hopefully it doesn’t take so long but often democracy is slow to catch up with changing societies.
Most surprising thing about this poll for me is that of those polled more men than women appear to be pro-choice.
Only 42% of Labour supporters backing abortion on demand. Suspected that would be higher.
Fine Gael voters that bit more pro-choice than Fianna Fáil
The mob has spoken!
It’s interesting how Fine Gael voters speak from two voices instead of one. They vehemently opposed abortion before the 2011 election and yet they now support it. The polls would turn against them unless they dropped their ideological christian-right belief. Fine Gael seem to care more about power – sounds familiar to FF?
Constantly trying to turn everything into a pro SF story is also very FF.
Where is your evidence that Fine Gael voters were vehemently opposed to abortion before the 2011 election?
@Mark- you know how ridiculous it sounds when you try and twist absolutely everything to fit your core contention that Fine Gael’s ruling council is made up of Satan and the four horsemen of the apocalypse?
It’s nothing to do with Christian Right wing ideologies . I ve voted labour all my life with one exception and I oppose abortion. It is a male oriented cheap and easy solution to a human problem .It kills the developing child and scars the women with psychological pain. Get over your ex catholic anger and think objectively about the matter. It is never right to kill to solve problems, that is why i oppose abortion, euthanasia and capital punishment . We should seek life solutions to life problems , not death and violence .
Can’t agree more, it’s been a long time coming!!
Red C polls have often been.proven wrong. That article picture is hardly impartial, is it? Nor is the wording of the article. Is the author sure.they are not in breach of media guidelines?
Ah, yes, the whole “it’s all fixed!” argument. I must have missed the billboards from Paddy Power.
Actually the opposite is the case. RedC have quite a good track record with their polls.
Your comment reminds me of the Republican/Romney supporters in the last US Presidential election-living in their own conservative bubble of reality. When the polls consistently show results they didn’t like,they dug their head in the sand and declared all the polls wrong. They then had the audacity to act shocked when the expected result from the polls occured.
There’s a massive change happening in Ireland now. For the better I feel-such a large pro choice support in the polls would have been unthinkable 30 years ago. You can accept the reality that Ireland is changing, as reflected in the poll, or you can stick your head in the sand and deny things you don’t like.
Is this really how we want to spend tax payers money?
Yes.
I can assure you; it may become available & legal but would be surprised if the medical profession or HSE will charge some money for it.
The HSE is not on a par with the NHS and far too many hospitals work under a Catholic ethos!
Reason that more females are pro-choice is a simple one men walk away with the excuses that they aren’t ready to be a father etc.mSo it’s the woman’s choice then but if in a relationship it should be discussed between a man and a women but really a man doesn’t have to carry a baby for 9 months and If the female doesn’t want that child would any man force his partner/wife to go through that and expect her to suddenly want the baby after labour(it can happen but rarely) I’m pro-choice I don’t want to see it as a means of contraception there a condoms and pills to help stop unwanted pregnancy’s but its a woman’s choice if the pill or condom don’t work!!! Also the church has no say In this I don’t believe in this have the baby and then give it up for adoption didn’t work with the church abusing those girls in the laundry’s after taking those babies away from them! Just my thought must be a horrible thing for any woman to decide wether to keep the baby or not and only women can understand that!
The figure for Fine Gael voters is strange. And disappointing.
Let me point out that their figure of 64% is 21% below their last poll. http://www.thejournal.ie/opinion-poll-shows-majority-in-favour-for-legislation-on-x-698251-Dec2012/
I really don’t know why we are still taking polls and discussing this issue, we know the majority of Irish voters want to legislate on the X case, we already had the referendum and it passed. The law is there, just legislate already and stop the pussyfooting around!
Savita could easily have been transported to the UK for an abortion. That didn’t happen, why?
I believe her sad death was all built up to propagandise to force abortion on the Irish people against our will as is now happening.
This is therefore the final end of democracy in Ireland.
- and this is what I am against. Not abortion, but forcing abortion – or anything – on the Irish people against their will. That’s dictatorship!
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