re: #108 Nyet

Teresa May is pushing their agenda and is looking to prevent the will of the people from being implemented in Ireland. She’s not going to relax the draconian anti-abortion laws on the books.

She’s using the excuse that Northern Ireland doesn’t have a government to ignore the outcome of the vote.

A spokeswoman for May said on Sunday changing the rules should only be undertaken by a government in Northern Ireland, which has been without a devolved executive since January last year after a power-sharing agreement collapsed.

May tweeted on Sunday to “congratulate the Irish people on their decision” but she made no mention of what the result would mean for Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe with even rape and fatal fetal abnormality not considered legal grounds for a termination. And unlike other parts of the United Kingdom, abortions are banned apart from when the life or mental health of the mother is in danger.

Since the collapse of a power sharing administration in Northern Ireland, British officials have been taking major decisions in the region and this means the government could legislate directly despite health being a devolved issue.

But any moves to change the law could destabilize the British government by antagonizing the socially conservative Democratic Unionist Party, which May depends on for her parliamentary majority.

So, the British govt has been making the decisions for the Irish, but they are suddenly deciding not to do so here.

The more this kind of thing occurs, the more the Irish need to consider breaking from the UK altogether. They didn’t want Brexit either, and yet they’re being dragged along for that ride too.