Page 50 - June2018

around the w rLd

vote to repeal anti-abortion law seen

as victory for women’s rights in Ireland

In a hIstorIc Mattarella rejected
referendum, the people an anti-E.U. nominee
of Ireland voted by 66.4 for economy minister
per cent to 33.6 per cent recommended by the
to overturn the country’s newly elected and
strict laws prohibiting first-ever populist
abortion. A vote in favour coalition government.
of repeal paves the The problem took root
way for Dáil, the Irish in March, when Italy
Parliament, to legislate for became the latest
change which would see European country
the introduction of a much to hold an election
more liberal regime. Abortion has been illegal in Ireland with surprisingly disastrous results for the political
since 1861 and was enshrined into the constitution in establishment. The March 4 vote saw mainstream
1983 with the Eighth amendment, which recognises that parties on both the right and the left knocked down
an unborn foetus has a right to life equal to a mother’s, by a new generation of populist politicians fuelled
effectively eliminating all abortions — even in cases by Euroscepticism and popular frustration over the
of rape and incest. The death of Indian-origin dentist Mediterranean migrant crisis. After rejecting 81-year-
Dr Savita Halappanavar in 2012 at the age 31 from old economist Paolo Savona, who has openly advocated
septicemia — an infection she contracted after she was pulling Italy out of the euro, the president then asked
denied an abortion during a miscarriage — set off outrage Carlo Cottarelli, a former executive at the International
across the country and gave momentum to a growing call Monetary Fund, to form a government instead. The
for change. The referendum in Ireland has raised hope populist party leaders were furious at what they
for changes in strict abortion laws in Northern Ireland considered a subversion of the will of the voters and have
that borders Ireland but is part of the UK. Though the called for protests and even Mattarella’s impeachment.
UK legalised abortion in 1967, its law was not extended
to Northern Ireland. The only times women are able to
get abortions in Northern Ireland is when there is a risk
to the mother’s life, or a permanent or serious risk to her In a bIzarre turn of perhaps the most significant
physical or mental health. present-day diplomatic events, US President Donald
Trump pulled out of the planned June 12 summit meeting
in Singapore with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un,
only to express just 24 hours later that the talks might still
severe polItIcal crisis unfolded in Italy, sending go ahead.
shockwaves from the European Union headquarters Trump had cancelled the talks after apparently being
Brussels to Wall Street, as Italian President Sergio angered by a statement issued by Pyongyang’s chief

Tehelka / 15 june 2018 50 www.Tehelka.com

50-51 World News.indd 2 06/06/18 1:26 PM