The United States has long been seen as a country that sets a standard for the rest of the world. But when over 4.8 million people decide to march on Washington D.C. globally, you know something has gone undeniably wrong with that system. The presidency of Donald J. Trump, though only a few weeks old, has already set gender equality back by decades around the globe. His influence is far-reaching, and the consequences it could hold for movements abroad is devastating.
Take Ireland, for example, where women have been fighting tooth and claw for years to repeal the 8th amendment of their country’s constitution. This is because Ireland is the only democratic country in the world whose constitution bans abortion. Ireland's laws equate the life of a fetus to that of its mother, and under this same amendment, any woman seeking an abortion within Ireland (or even something as simple as a plan B pill) can face up to 14 years imprisonment. It’s a law that has ruined countless lives, and it’s also the reason why 5,000 people in Dublin marched in solidarity with protesters in Washington D.C.
They understand just how disastrous Trump-like ideologies can be. They know that the constitutional ban of abortion in Ireland has not stopped abortions from happening. Rather, it has made their pregnancies more dangerous. The 8th amendment blurs the lines between a woman’s health and her own life, and this is something that has had fatal consequences for Irish women — even in the case of planned pregnancies.
In 2012, a woman named Savita Halappanavar was denied an abortion in Galway, despite having been diagnosed with a miscarriage. The heart of her unborn child was still beating and doctors refused to preform what would have been a lifesaving procedure. The miscarriage turned septic. Still, Halappanavar was forced to deliver her stillborn baby before the infection caused her own organs to shut down just four days later. Halappanavar left behind a grieving family and distraught Irish public. They knew something needed to change, and the Repeal movement sprang to life.
That fight is far from over. As many as 10 Irish women a day must still travel abroad to the U.K. and Wales to seek medical care they no longer feel they can receive at home. These women often travel alone, putting their lives into the hands of doctors they have never before met. Any woman suspected of leaving the country for such services can have her passport confiscated by police, no questions asked. They are treated as though they are second class citizens within their own borders, and it’s no surprise that they understand what’s at risk for American women.
But even as they continue to fight for a referendum, every executive order Trump signs is working against them. It’s encouraging their opponents and it’s scaring countless women away from joining the fight, from sharing their own stories.
This is what the march on Washington D.C. was really about: changing the world.
