New book by Camilla Fitzsimons

Repealed Ireland's Unfinished Fight for Reproductive Rights
Friday, October 15, 2021 - 11:00

Congratulations to our colleague Camilla Fitzsimons (with Sinead Kennedy) on her latest book Repealed: Ireland’s unfinished fight for reproductive rights.   

Now available to pre-order at this address, https://www.plutobooks.com/9780745344270/repealed/

Camilla’s latest book captures the Irish Repeal Movement from the grassroots up. With the help of over 400 activists, it tells the story of a 35-year long campaign to repeal the eighth amendment from the constitution of Ireland. Repealed, draws out the lessons learned from a 35-year-long reproductive rights movement that culminated in a referendum in 2018 which was an inspiring example of modern grassroots activism and a culmination of 35-years of feminist activism.  

But this book is about much more than the events of 2018 as its full title Repealed: Ireland’s Unfinished Fight for Reproductive Rights unveils. There are many barriers to safe, legal, local access to abortion meaning some people still must travel overseas. Moreover, services have not yet been fully commissioned in Northern Ireland. These restrictions don’t exist in a vacuum but amidst a global attack on reproductive rights.
Repealed also highlights how millions of people struggle to secure their human rights more broadly and proposes a reproductive justice perspective that merges ‘reproductive rights’ with ‘social justice. Writing as a radical feminist, Camilla makes the case for a consciousness raising approach that highlights how a person’s reproductive identity is shaped by political, social and economic contexts.
With a foreword by former TD Ruth Coppinger who, in 2014, was the first person to introduce a bill calling for Repeal of the Eighth amendment, Repealed: Ireland’s Unfinished Fight for Reproductive Rights is an original and much needed account of the Irish Reproductive Rights movement. We hope you agree.