Home to Vote: Emotive documentary shares real life stories of why women are voting to #RepealThe8th

As the divisive referendum proposing to Repeal the Eighth amendment culminates at polling stations across Ireland on May 25th, an audio documentary shares the bleak realities that Irish women have faced in generations past.

“At the airport, I had a moment...I was in searing pain and I just looked around at first of all, what my country had forced me to do, the position my country had put me in, the government..the church.. The conservative way of life that has led to women being treated like this. How could my country put me in this position?"

Dublin Institute of Technology student Aisling Gill collated stories from women of varying generations, backgrounds, and moralities - who are united by the common experience of being shunned by a country that does not support women facing a crisis pregnancy.

The firsthand stories and experiences of these women portray the shock, panic, fear, shame, and loneliness of traveling to the UK for a procedure unavailable to them in their home country.

While the women interviewed were equally met with empathy from medical professionals or family, they were presented with no viable options.

The sombre statistic of nine Irish women traveling daily to the UK for an abortion has been well documented - but actually hearing the detail of these women’s journeys, what many determine to be the most difficult decision of their lives, makes for heart-rending listening.

You can listen to the documentary in its entirety, via Soundcloud here.

Very proud to have taken part in this audio documentary but absolutely terrified to share my story.I’m not ashamed of my decision at all. It allowed me to live a life I wanted to live, rather than a life I was forced to live. Please #BeMyYes #RepealThe8th https://t.co/VtXMPSskIk
— Katie O'Hara (@KatieCaseyOHara) May 24, 2018

Meanwhile, hundreds of returning expats have landed in Dublin Airport eager to have their voices heard. Their journey home to cast their vote is in solidarity with the estimated 170,000 women who have been forced to leave Irish shores in order to obtain an abortion in the last four decades.