Irish women dress as characters from The Handmaid's Tale for abortion protest
Activists copied uniforms from dystopian novel to highlight oppressive laws banning abortion
Irish pro-choice activists donned bonnets and red capes like the ones worn by characters in The Handmaid’s Tale to protest the country’s restrictive abortion laws.
Women in Ireland are currently barred from ending an unwanted pregnancy under any circumstances. In 2016, 3,265 women travelled from the Republic of Ireland to the UK to access abortion services, according to statistics compiled by the Department of Health.
Earlier this year, the Citizens’ Assembly - a committee of ordinary 99 Irish voters presided over by a judge - urged the government to amend the section of the Constitution which bars abortion.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Around 25 women gathered outside the Irish parliament, the Dail, on Wednesday, as lawmakers met to discuss the Assembly’s recommendations.
“We want pro-choice, proper legislation that will bring us compliant in human rights law along with all other countries,” protester Una Reynolds told Breaking News Ireland.
The Handmaid’s Tale, the Margaret Atwood novel recently adapted into an Emmy-winning TV drama, takes place in a dystopian near-future in which America has been transformed into a totalitarian Christian theocracy called Gilead where women’s rights have been stripped away.
In this society, “handmaids” are a class of women who serve as concubines to the elite men of Gilead. Forced to dress in the distinct uniform of white and red, they exist solely to reproduce and have no rights over their children or their own bodies.
The election of Donald Trump, who is anti-abortion and has previously suggested that women who have abortions should be “punished”, have made the themes of Atwood’s novel and its timely TV adaptation particularly resonant for women’s rights campaigners in the US.
The striking sight of women in white bonnets and scarlet capes has been seen at statehouses across the country this summer, as pro-choice activists don the outfit for eerie silent protests against state-level bills which would place restrictions on abortion.
Pro-choice campaigners argue that these measures, which include stipulations such as requiring women seeking abortions to listen to their fetal heartbeat, are medically unnecessary and exist only to make it harder for women to access their constitutional right to terminate a pregnancy.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
5 sleeper hit cartoons about Trump's struggles to stay awake in court
Cartoons Artists take on courtroom tranquility, war on wokeness, and more
By The Week US Published
-
The true story of Feud: Capote vs. The Swans
In depth The writer's fall from grace with his high-flying socialite friends in 1960s Manhattan is captured in a new Disney+ series
By Adrienne Wyper, The Week UK Published
-
Scottie Scheffler: victory for the 'pre-eminent golfer of this era'
Why Everyone's Talking About Masters victory is Scheffler's second in three years
By The Week Staff Published
-
Israel hits Iran with retaliatory airstrike
Speed Read The attack comes after Iran's drone and missile barrage last weekend
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Is there a peaceful way forward for Israel and Iran?
Today's Big Question Tehran has initially sought to downplay the latest Israeli missile strike on its territory
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
In what states is abortion legal, illegal, and in limbo?
In The Spotlight Where American states stand on abortion care
By Theara Coleman, The Week US Published
-
'Good riddance to the televised presidential debate'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Sudan on brink of collapse after a year of war
Speed Read 18 million people face famine as the country continues its bloody downward spiral
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
How powerful is Iran?
Today's big question Islamic republic is facing domestic dissent and 'economic peril' but has a vast military, dangerous allies and a nuclear threat
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'This isn't judicial restraint — it's judicial activism'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
US, Israel brace for Iran retaliatory strikes
Speed Read An Iranian attack on Israel is believed to be imminent
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published