[dropcap]The[/dropcap] creator of the REPEAL project, Anna Cosgrave spoke to DCU Feminist Society about the story behind the Repeal jumpers and their contribution to the protest movement. The jumpers, which are sold on the website www.repeal.ie, have been used as a statement, rather than a trend for the Repeal the 8th Amendment campaign.
DCU Feminist Society welcomed the creator of these jumpers to speak to DCU students. More than twenty students attended to hear how the clothing piece was invented, what effect it has had on women who underwent abortions, and the plans for the future of the jumper. Anna, who attends regular meetings, protests, and talks about abortion rights, shared an anonymous woman’s story of her abortion and how the presence of Irish people wearing the ‘REPEAL’ jumpers has strengthened that woman’s journey.
Speaking about the concept behind the jumpers, Anna said she created them black and white as she “wants a unified, simple message that really called for change”. She said that although abortion is a “very complex personal decision”, she wanted “the movement to be a little simplified”. She has met some “amazing women, girls and parents who have shared their stories, each one just as important as the next”.
In September, six TDs from the Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit wore the jumpers bearing the ‘REPEAL’ slogan during the first Leaders’ Questions of the new term. However, there were comments that they may be sanctioned for breaking the House rules. In October, the Citizens’ Convention has decided to hold four weekend-long meetings on the constitutional restrictions on abortion before they submit a report to legislators. This body of 99 chosen citizens will meet to discuss a limited number of key issues in the Constitution, and its first task will be to examine the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.
Aine Campion
Image Credit: The Irish Times
Leave a Reply