Abortion poll provides an interesting snapshot of Ireland’s attitudes

Anyone who voted in the 1983 referendum is now at least 50 years of age.

That referendum put article 40.3.3, the Eighth Amendment, into the Irish Constitution and “acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right”.

Last week, the Red C poll, conducted on behalf of Amnesty International, presented an interesting snapshot of current thinking in Ireland on abortion.

Entrenched views

Some 1,009 people were surveyed and, according to Red C’s

Bryan Cox

, people’s views on abortion appear “quite entrenched”. In any poll, he would expect to find 10 per cent of respondents “don’t know” about the given issue. In this poll, 3 per cent of respondents said they don’t know, have no opinion or refused to answer.

Those aged 65 or over are less likely to make abortion available in Ireland by choice, the poll found. Some 33 per cent of over 65s said they were not in favour of this.

In contrast, 52 per cent of the 25-34 age group said they thought women in Ireland “should be allowed access to abortion in Ireland as they chose”.

Some 11 per cent of those aged 55-64 said they are opposed to “allowing abortion in Ireland in all circumstances”; 5 per cent of 18-24 year olds say abortion should never be permitted.

Generation gap

Any generation gap is small, but there is a gap . Older people were also less likely to be aware that abortion is classified as a crime in Ireland and carries a potential 14-year penalty. Some 82 per cent of respondents over 65 didn’t know this; 58 per cent of those aged 18-24 didn’t know this.

The poll also found younger females favoured less restricted access to abortion. The older you are, however, the more likely you are to “strongly disagree” that the 14-year prison sentence for having an abortion here is “reasonable”. Some 85 per cent of of those aged 55-64 said it was not reasonable. This dropped to 72 per cent among of those aged 18-24.

On release of the poll findings, Colm O'Gorman, executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, told The Irish Times that everyone should be part of the "challenging" conversation" about abortion. Age should not be a factor in contributing to that discussion, he said.