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The Irish Abortion Journey, 1920–2018

  • Book
  • © 2019

Overview

Authors:
  1. Lindsey Earner-Byrne

    1. School of History, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

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  2. Diane Urquhart

    1. Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

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  • Takes a long view of the origins of Ireland’s anti-abortion culture, examining its history in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
  • Examines the lived realities of abortion travel for Irish women and the impact on heath and health care provision
  • Joins past narratives with contemporary debates surrounding the Irish abortion narrative both in the home and in the city

Part of the book series: Genders and Sexualities in History (GSX)

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Table of contents (8 chapters)

  1. Front Matter

    Pages i-xxii
    Download chapter PDF

  2. Introduction

    • Lindsey Earner-Byrne, Diane Urquhart
    Pages 1-8

  3. Maternity and Moral Migration, 1920s–1960s

    • Lindsey Earner-Byrne, Diane Urquhart
    Pages 9-31

  4. Legality and Irish Abortion, 1920s–1960s

    • Lindsey Earner-Byrne, Diane Urquhart
    Pages 33-50

  5. Contraceptive Mentalities, 1960s–1980s

    • Lindsey Earner-Byrne, Diane Urquhart
    Pages 51-68

  6. Pro-life States of Mind, 1967–2000s

    • Lindsey Earner-Byrne, Diane Urquhart
    Pages 69-97

  7. Abortion in Exile, 1967–2018

    • Lindsey Earner-Byrne, Diane Urquhart
    Pages 99-116

  8. Trusting Women, 2000–2018

    • Lindsey Earner-Byrne, Diane Urquhart
    Pages 117-136

  9. Conclusion

    • Lindsey Earner-Byrne, Diane Urquhart
    Pages 137-141

  10. Back Matter

    Pages 143-158
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Keywords

About this book

This book reframes the Irish abortion narrative within the history of women’s reproductive health and explores the similarities and differences that shaped the history of abortion within the two states on the island of Ireland. Since the legalisation of abortion in Britain in 1967, an estimated 200,000 women have travelled from Ireland to England for an abortion. However, this abortion trail is at least a century old and began with women migrating to Britain to flee moral intolerance in Ireland towards unmarried mothers and their offspring. This study highlights how attitudes to unmarried motherhood reflected a broader cultural acceptance that morality should trump concerns regarding maternal health. This rationale bled into social and political responses to birth control and abortion and was underpinned by an acknowledgement that in prioritising morality some women would die. 



Reviews

“The Irish Abortion Journey, 1920–2018 holds a potential for intersectionality. … The authors make an outstanding connection between the history and politics of the last hundred years and the social and economic reality of women and Irish life on both sides of the frontier. Adding feminism as the core of the debate, they also pay a debt to many women. The richness of their debate must be extolled because it will serve as the basis for subsequent analysis.” (Cristina Díaz Pérez, Gender, Issue 2, 2020)

Authors and Affiliations

  • School of History, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland

    Lindsey Earner-Byrne

  • Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK

    Diane Urquhart

About the authors

Lindsey Earner-Byrne is Senior Lecturer in Modern Irish History at University College Dublin, Ireland. She has published widely on gender, health and welfare in modern Ireland. Her books include Mother and Child: Maternity and Child Welfare in Dublin, 1922-60 (2007) and Letters of the Catholic Poor: Poverty in Independent Ireland, 1920-1940 (2017). 



Diane Urquhart is Professor of Modern Irish History at the Institute of Irish Studies, University of Liverpool, UK. She has published widely on gender, class, women and politics, and marriage. Her books include Women in Ulster Politics, 1890-1940 (2000), The Ladies of Londonderry: Women and Political Patronage, 1800-1959 (2007) and her forthcoming monograph on the history of Irish divorce will provide the first comprehensive history of the subject. 


Bibliographic Information

  • Book Title: The Irish Abortion Journey, 1920–2018

  • Authors: Lindsey Earner-Byrne, Diane Urquhart

  • Series Title: Genders and Sexualities in History

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03855-7

  • Publisher: Palgrave Pivot Cham

  • eBook Packages: History, History (R0)

  • Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2019

  • Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-03854-0Published: 20 February 2019

  • eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-03855-7Published: 30 January 2019

  • Series ISSN: 2730-9479

  • Series E-ISSN: 2730-9487

  • Edition Number: 1

  • Number of Pages: XXII, 158

  • Number of Illustrations: 4 b/w illustrations, 4 illustrations in colour

  • Topics: History of Britain and Ireland, Cultural History, Gender and Sexuality, Social History

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