@Ismise Máire: I’ve heard about No campaigners insulting people at their own door because they said that they were voting Yes. After seeing your comment, it wouldn’t surprise me.

@Ismise Máire: I think you’ve just proven his point…

@Ismise Máire:
Its not like humans are in any danger of dying out anytime soon.
And whos going to pay for all those unwanted babies when born especially the ones with multiple disabilities that will be put in state care that no one wants to adopt.

@Dave Walsh: Peadar Toibin wouldn’t admit when directly asked by the head of the Rape Crisis Centre if he was happy to force women or girls who were raped to term. He would. That’s just a disgustingly unfair attitude. ‘I don’t want to force anyone, but…’
Ugh… Vote yes. Despicable.

@Wayne: and I’ve personally been called all sorts of names and been told that as a man I shouldn’t even have a say on the matter by people for the yes vote so let’s not pretend that obnoxious people are the preserve of the no vote. There are people who believe their opinion supersedes everyone else’s on both sides.

@Ismise Máire: People from the future can’t thank us Maire….. Time travel now, that’s the latest from the no side.. You read is here first.

@Gav Quinn: yes undoubtedly the best way to alleviate the suffering of one victim is to create another.

@Dave Walsh: So you’re being pushed to vote based on the behaviour of others and not logical arguments?

@Ivan Connolly: Yeah good man Ivan, ANOTHER MAN telling women what to do. It’s just an excuse for your disrespect for women. You don’t care about some stranger’s kids. Get out and adopt, donate your money and time to helping kids if you’re so genuine.

@Dave Walsh: no you werent , kust another childish sweeping statement from someone heavily invested on the yes side …

@Din8rtd: Nazi argument…well done. The yes mask slips…

@Joe O’riordan: Godwins law. The No mask slips

@Joe O’riordan: still no constructive posts, just more snide comments.

@Ivan Connolly: let’s be quite clear here 50% of fertilised eggs die. Do you call then victims? It is absolutely ridiculous that you are here saying that a rape victim doesn’t deserve to be able to control of her own life again. The perpetrator creates both victims. The child born of rape is already a victim.

@Din8rtd: their is another agenda to Leo you can’t trust government on anything look what happened to smear test woman are dying. Vote no

@Ismise Máire: And I’m sure the thousands of women and children incarcerated, forced to do unpaid labour, beaten, tortured, murdered and dumped in septic tanks have thanked you for your sheepish devotion to Iona and the church.

@Dave Walsh: lies, this is just your tactic to convince the undecided. Do you think people are stupid enough to copy your lies? Pathetic

@Gav Quinn: Mr Harris sidestepped a hell of a lot of his questions too man.

@Paul Fahey: and it will be 39 seconds more before you turn back into a 4 year old with ridiculous childish comments and name calling. Hypocrite

@Stephen Mc Elligott: seems odd that so many of your friends and contacts are featuring in articles in the last 24 hours; Cora, Tim and the IBCR.

@Ismise Máire: And the woman’s lives who will be saved, just ask Savitas family, let woman make their own decision, vote YES

@Patricia Cooney: So you’re basing your vote on your lack of trust in the government? seriously grow up and read some of the heartbreaking posts that women have to endure because of the 8th. In Her Shoes – Women of the Eighth. Read them and then decide.

@Ismise Máire: 50% of ALL human embryos are aborted spontaneously – that’s 1 in 2 of every human pregnancy. The overwhelming majority of women do not even realise that they had been pregnant in the first place.
Millions of human embryos pass out in women and girl’s menstrual cycle every year and these end up on panty liners and tampons. This means that literally every woman who is sexually active will have a spontaneous abortion at some point. Why has the church no ritual for the systematic blessing of women’s menstrual cycles to ensure that all these aborted “babies” can go to heaven? Why aren’t there dedicated places to bury all these aborted “babies” on consecrated ground? Why are the religious so fixated on the tiny number of women who for their private reasons choose to terminate a pregnancy within the first 12 weeks. It’s literally a drop in the ocean compared to the mass killings imposed by nature or god, depending on your own belief system.

@Patricia Cooney: 1. What is Leo’s other agenda?

2. You can’t trust a democratically elected government on anything so what are you proposing a theocracy like the one we used to have or the one they have in Iran?
3. Women dying from misdiagnosed smear tests is dreadful but totally unrelated to other women making a decision to terminate a crisis pregnancy.
Also, statistics show that on a worldwide basis, there is practically no difference in abortion rates in countries where the practice is legal or illegal. The only time abortion rates go down is in countries where it is legal and where women and girls have sufficient support, education and contraception. The 8th amendment probably causes more abortions among Irish women than if abortion were available legally and with medical supervision here as the current situation means women can’t talk to any medical staff here (or anyone else in many cases) and simply take a ryanair flight to the UK.

@Ismise Máire:hang out the washing. Tis a fine day for it

@Din8rtd: I fo

@Din8rtd: Dirt bag comment but no surprise

@Gav Quinn: what about John Walters saying how he didn’t care if it is an 11 year old rape victim in fact he said “ I don’t care if the child is 11, 7, 2 or 3 years old , they should be forced to carry that baby full term” I couldn’t believe what ide just heard! That’s just insane.

@Din8rtd: let’s hope you never find yourself infirm but if you do I’ll be happy to save us all some money.

@Ivan Connolly: No supporter volunteering to kill? Wow.

@Din8rtd: ok, so you went the other extreme…

@Patricia Cooney: you’re right Patricia, it’s all a big conspiracy the government are playing at. While ye are all out voting he’ll be robbing houses or something…or he’ll privatize abortion and then go back into practice and own all the licenses, flip Leo’s a genius…,P.S. catch yourself on.

@Ismise Máire: I think you have just proved Dave Walsh’s point. Keep up the good work. Have a go at me for wanting to protect the rights and dignity of women. Please, please do. Who knows, you might sway a few more people in the right (Repeal) direction.

@Joe O’riordan: great job, keep it up. You are being invaluable to the Yes side.

@Dave Walsh: Somehow Dave, I don’t think your being completely honest there. The fact is that there are militants on both sides, however if that’s all it takes to sway you then your easily led. I’m voting yes but not because of being influenced by “militants” as you call them. Not all yes voters agree with other yes voters regarding the reasons behind their decision, far from it. The fact is that it will be no great celebration if either side wins, so please don’t play the victim to curry favour with other yes voters.

@Dave Walsh: what a woeful reason to vote on either side. As an as yet undecided voter, I know whichever way I finally decide to vote, I will have deeply unpleasant bedfellows. Both sides have ‘extremists’ cursed by blind certainty a little like religious zealots on the one hand and assured atheists on the other whose views are informed by blind faith rather than considered and rigorous thought.

@Dave Walsh: Militants is a pretty appropriate word , considering the fact that the No campaigns shared its supporters’ data with the NRA . Not that concerned about taking human life once it’s born ..???

@Dave Walsh: Bull, you were always a yes voter,

@Ivan Connolly: The difference is that the No side want to legally impose their belief system on the majority of people in this country. The Yes side want to allow the people dealing with a crisis pregnancy to make their own decision. That’s a critical difference. Vote YES for democracy or NO for Theocracy!

@Dave Walsh: Can I just say that the nastiness and lack of empathy shown by the pro abortion side is staggering…I was in Dublin yesterday and they had a large sign outside Trinity with ‘High five for Repeal’, People who agreed would high five and do a dance to celebrate…Such a serious subject of babies lives, life or death and they are actually celebrating it?…..if people vote to repeal, thousands of perfectly healthy babies will die going forward…..all unborn babies will have ZERO right to Life….it’s so serious…Please force the government to just regulate for the small amount of hard cases and VOTE NO…

@Din8rtd: Ismise won’t be paying for these babies,neither taking care of them, loving them and raising them…so none of her business but the parents to decide. Anyhow she thinks she is saving the human race from self extinction…ludicrous

@Anne Marie Devlin: +1

@Dave Walsh: Oh please what have a lunatics on either side got to do with this at all?

@Ismise Máire: You sound exactly like the No campaigner who called to my door, uninvited, and jeered my for my choice to vote yes, to my face on my own doorstep. I hope all their interactions were equally uncivil as they would indeed prompt someone to think twice.

@Ismise Máire:
Tell us, how can they thank him? even before an abortion they can’t even take a breath on their own, never mind communicate.

We are in utterly ridiculous nutter territory now.

@Gav Quinn: yawn. Would be great if you actually had something worthwhile to say gav instead of resorting to name calling but that’s clearly the level of your debate. You’re doing the yes vote proud.

@Dave O Keeffe: that’s pathetic. People also die but unless they were killed they aren’t victims. I hope that’s not your best argument.

@MaryF: bit of a difference between an embryo and a baby and someone dying naturally or in this instance failing to exist is a lot different from consciously killing it.

@Dave O Keeffe: yes you prob thought it was the preserve of the yes supporters.

@Ivan Connolly: eh you volunteered to happily kill someone for financial reasons.

@Paul O’Connor: works both ways Paul, I was called a redneck and a hillbilly on my own doorstep because I told together for Yes that I was voting No and wouldn’t be swayed. Both sides are equally as bad as each other and that is a fact.

@Dave Walsh: Hopefully the militants on the NO side are shooting themselves in the foot. There has been an awful campaign of misinformation run by many on the NO side. NO posters on every pole in Ireland misusing stats, the use of a fake nurse on a billboard, hiring a former member of Cambridge Analytica, setting up websites for undecided voters that claim to be unbiased, sending out booklets made to look like official government documents etc etc So much of the Trump base in this – Disgusting: https://drunktree.com/2018/05/21/the-abortion-referendum-the-dangerously-authoritarian-impulse-of-many-no-vote-advocates/

@Mr Phil Officer: It is healthcare when a woman needs an abortion.

@Dave Doyle: more women abort unwanted pregnancies as a result of having an affair than all the so called hard cases combined, that is not healthcare, these private “clinics” in the UK operate for profit, it has nothing to do with healthcare.

@Mr Phil Officer:But it is healthcare-doesn’t matter if you believe that it isn’t one-it’s a medical procedure

@Mr Phil Officer: WTF???? Where are you getting that information?? Misogyny is alive & well in the no campaign! All those dorty dorty wimmen….

@Mr Phil Officer: 40 years ago was 1978 and they did no such thing… Just what year do you think this is? 1930 or something ?

@Mr Phil Officer: btw, can you get back to us with how you deal with lung cancer without doctors, since smoking is not healthcare, in the same way that unprotected sex during a rape “is not healthcare”. You seen to focus on mechanics of impending healthcare rather than the fact that Cora refuses to prosthelytise her opinion alongside actually qualified people above her pay grade.

@Mr Phil Officer: I have had a quick look online at the latest annual statement from the Marie Stopes group in the UK. This is a Trust and and such does not operate for profit.

https://files.acrobat.com/a/preview/9118f2c7-e873-4d06-8eb3-bc2ba503795d

It is very easy to get your facts straight in this day and age. It took me 30 seconds to find the report. Where are you getting your stats about women and affairs?

I’m getting sick of the moralising from the No side. As if somehow you have the moral high-ground and yet you shame and pillory women form merely making a choice about their bodies.

@Clare Butler: “misogyny” women can have all day orgies for all I care, just don’t expect others to pay for the termination of their unwanted pregnancies.

@Mr Phil Officer: yes Phil thats what happens- women go off having all day orgies and then go for abortions. Just another weekend!

@Gulliver Foyle: I would vote yes for protecting the small number of so called hard cases but I am being asked to also vote for unrestricted access on demand abortion up to 3months on perfectly healthy babies, that is the reason why I will be voting no.

@Mr Phil Officer: no your not. You are being asked if we can *legislate* for*any* case. Maybe it’s best that you don’t vote if you cannot read the question being asked. If loads of you guys get elected, you can actually legalized a full ban on abortion in all cases. You can actually force births like in the handmaid’s tale.

@Gulliver Foyle: there should be two questions on the paper but Ireland’s conservatives are using the hard cases to force through unrestricted abortion to comply with what will eventually be EU wide standard abortion laws.

@Mr Phil Officer: Conservatives are forcing through a liberalisation of our conservative abortion laws?

How does that work?

@Gulliver Foyle: …also you do know the handmaidens tale is a TV show and not real life, if you are basing your emotive decision on the tribulations of make believe TV characters then maybe it’s you who shouldn’t vote.

@Change Everything: conservatives who only a couple of years ago were anti abortion, they have all the principles of a used car salesman.

@Greg Kelly: Whataboutery anybody?

@Mr Phil Officer: Ah here! I thought it was a documentry. You’ve ruined it for me now Philo.

@Clare Butler: I have a 4year old account on here, from day one I have called for the deeds and achievements of Ireland’s great women to be recognised, I have highlighted many times how women have been disgracefully written out of the history books, I am probably the biggest feminist on here so for you to label me misogynist is way wide of the mark.

@pats brandon: it wouldn’t surprise me if some of these angry extreme liberals are basing their opinions on the sufferings of the fictional handmaidens.
Want some advice, don’t watch it, it’s boring and painfully slow.

@Mr Phil Officer: I don’t think you get the whole link between the fictional dystopian theocracy and the theocracy that a no vote entails. One is a group of militant christians, imposing their interpretation of biblical scripture and… I guess you get it now.

@Gulliver Foyle: I am a secularist, religion does not factor into my reasoning for voting no, and I certainly won’t be basing my decision on a fictional TV show.

@Mr Phil Officer: Actually the Handmaid’s Tale is mirroring real life for a LOT of women. Seriously it’s eerie how much of it is based on reality now.

@Ruth McCann: come on now Ruth, you don’t actually believe that, it’s a work of fiction.

@Mr Phil Officer: Doctors never encouraged patients to take up smoking. 40 years ago, it was already known that they damaged people’s health. In fact, it has been known since 1967 so that’s 51 years: https://edition.cnn.com/2014/01/11/health/still-smoking/index.html

@Mr Phil Officer: Another nonsense comment Phil – must try harder.
50% of all human embryos are aborted in the first 12 weeks by nature or god, depending on your belief system. That’s 1 in 2 of all conceived humans on the planet now or ever and in the future. These aborted foetuses pass out of the girls’ and women’s bodies in their monthly cycle and the women and girls don’t even notice it. Why fixate on less than 1% of abortions which are accessed by women during crisis pregnancies. It’s literally a drop in the ocean.

@MaryF: cigarettes were once physician tested and approved, proscribed in some instances, ads even had doctor recommended promoted brands.

@Mr Phil Officer: eh, actually you said why you are voting No in one of your comments, something about it being OK to use abortion for the “hard cases” but that you’re not paying for any one else. So it appears you are objecting on financial grounds. Well, at least your financial point is valid, even if I do disagree.

@David Stapleton: @Mr Phil Officer, apologies. For clarity, you mentioned money in the context of women having all day orgies and not in context of hard cases. By the way, is this just all day lesbian orgies your supporting now or are you in favor of men being included in these orgy things?

@Mr Phil Officer: You prefer to pay for their upkeep over the following 20 years instead?

@Mr Phil Officer: Yea, yea, in your dreams maybe but not in 1978 and not in this country.

@MaryF: it seems he does… what you have to say about that Mr. Phil? Will you be there throwing euros and money for the kids who their parents won’t give a toss? I am sure you will be there like Moses was waiting for all the animals…such a good kind hearted person you are

@Greg Kelly: Mary Lou recoils from answering the hard cases when questions on the disappeared arise or fails to disassociate herself from IRA murderers and criminals and RTE fail to call her out

@The Risen: you can’t give a one word answer to a complex question. Perhaps you should read the story of Ms C. Pregnant at 13 following abuse/rape. Forced to go to England for an abortion against her will. Follow up healthcare/counselling provided by the state; minimal. Now a young woman she has suffered significant mental health issues. She has spoken out against repeal and is advocating improved back up services for young women in these situations.

@Pharmy: No one on the pro-CHOICE side is happy what happened Ms C. She had no CHOICE which is the only thing that people on the yes side want. No one should ever be forced to have an abortion and no one should ever be convinced or encouraged to have an abortion.

@The Risen:
She’s not the only one who can’t answer that. There is no shortage of NO moralists on here who think not answering that question makes it go away.

@Pharmy: Of course you can give a one word answer. My answer would be a very simple no. I absolutely would not force a 12, 14, 19, or any aged female to proceed with an unwanted pregnancy after rape. It’s only more complicated if you’re trying(and failing in every circumstance) to justify a yes answer, or answer yes without saying yes.The question is would you force a rape victim to remain pregnant against her will? There is only two possible answers.

@Tweed Cap: in case you missed it, Healy Rae refused to answer that last night on TV3 in an uncomfortable 10 minutes, even going to a break as he was waffling air while being pressed on it.

@The Risen: I’m curious. Exactly how many raped 12 year olds have been forced to continue with pregnancies? I’m sure since you are referencing it you must have the numbers to hand.

@Pharmy: this happened despite the 8th amendment being in place. I sympathise with this woman but a no vote won’t prevent it happening again.

@Ivan Connolly:
I’m curious also.
How many is not enough for you?

@Ivan Connolly: Do you think a 12 year old pregnant following a rape, who wants an abortion and whose parents want her to have one, should be denied it?

@Ivan Connolly: Trying to delegitimise the point. If you’re claiming it’s not to be worried about, then there’s no problem repealing. Unless of course you’d force a child to term? Which I guess you would

@Ivan Connolly: surely 1 is enough.

@The Risen: a 12 year old rape victim described as a ‘woman’ by Ronan Mullen on TV last week

@Pharmy: Which only proves that a blanket law for this is totally wrong and that the only way that women can solve their own crisis is to be trusted to look after it in the way that they so choose even if it goes against what others believe they should or should not do, or whether or not it’s the rest of the world’s social responsibility to dictate to them what they should do in such a situation. How do you know she still wouldn’t have trauma or mental health issues including post natal depression (those prone to depression or traumatised are prone to it) even if she had carried her child to term? There’s too many people trying to turn shades of grey into black and white on both sides of this issue. The only sensible answer i can see is to hand this to the people it affects and not those who think they know best for society in general. Yes what about what about what about the babies. I know. I know trust me.

It’s the only close to right thing to do in a situation where probably nothing will ever be right. Termination is never right or ok, it’s sometimes the only choice for people though and that’s their business. So stop the madness.

@Dermot Lane: To be fair, he has limited experience with girls or women in his closet.

@Gav Quinn: so you are suggesting that the better solution to one child having a baby is to kill another. Its a curious logic which is clearly what separates the votes.

@David Edwards: the point is that those who wish a no vote believe that the life of the unborn child has a validity that can’t be simply eradicated because of whatever unfortunate circumstance led to their conception. This is the defining point of the no campaign. That no harm done to one individual can be alleviated by the denial of life of another. If you believe it is a human child inside the womb then it is a fair position to argue that that life is as valid as any other and should not be extinguished merely because of a crime against another. We don’t even believe that a convicted murderer should be executed yet from the perspective of those who believe a baby exists inside the womb the yes campaign are asking us to terminate an innocent life. Easy to see the polarisation.

@Ivan Connolly: There is no tidy solution and so we have to legislate for the very difficult choices that all women (not just 12 year old rape victims) have to make when they have a crisis pregnancy. The best solution is to provide a choice for that 12 year old to make with her parents and her doctor. Or for the 43 year old mother to make with her partner and her doctor. Or for the 24 year old living in extreme poverty. Or for the 35 year old who never wanted children and contraception failed her. Or Or Or…

@Ivan Connolly: what gav is suggesting as are we all on the yes side is that we allow that 12 year old and their parents the CHOICE of “killing another baby” as you put thats all. Maybe they would avail of the abortion maybe they won’t thats not the point of what were trying to get across

Since you chose not to respond to gavs other question I can only assume then your totally OK with forcing a 12 year old rape victim to full term.

@Anthony McGovern: yes exactly. For me it is the lessor of two evils. The 12 year old girl has a chance at a normal life the terminated baby clearly does not.

@Ivan Connolly: any idea what a pregnancy does to a 12 year olds body? Normal life is the least likely scenario.

@The Risen: RTE are pro choice organization and believe its their contribution to society to influence voters as they did in the presidential election and other elections . RTE is full of overrated journalists and full of family and friends of presenters whose partners are working for government ministers and Sinn Fein

@Boyne Sharky: that’s great. thanks for clearing that up.

@Ivan Connolly: No worries buddy. Remember, the Iona Institute, advocating ‘pulling out’ for the pas 2,000 years.

@Jeremy DeChad: The World healthcare organisation deems it as health care.But you know better then them of course

@brian boru: totally agree with you .It is dirty work, especially as it’s been shown that most women go to the UK for socioeconomic reasons. Surely it’s not beyond our collective wit to devise laws to cater for the “hard cases” or at least look at jurisdictions like Germany who have legislated for hard cases. 12 weeks unrestricted is too much. I’m voting no for that reason although I’m for repeal.

@Trish O’Leary-Dunne: ok so being pregnant is an illness then. In that case everyone should be given a termination right. I certainly would not be guided by what the WHO say in regard to this issue. Hope that is ok. Vote no to save thousands or Irish lives each year.

@Jeremy DeChad: medical care/procedures/treatments apply to more than just illness; there’s injuries, degenerative conditions, malformation, deformation, etc.
For instance: ankyloglossia is not an illness or an injury but it still requires treatment in the form of frenotomy.