Welcome to Day 3 of the ARC *Tell a Fine Gael TD* campaign. Day 1 and Day 2 saw hundreds of personal letters and specific relevant messages going to TDs Creighton and Buttimer, but we’ve plenty of TDs to go as we focus on one TD a day, telling them in every medium we have available that women in Ireland need abortion legislation and need that legislation to address the real health concerns, real needs of women all over Ireland.
Below we have sample tweets, posts, emails, and messages you can send and clinic location. Join us in sharing the reality of what women in Ireland need from the upcoming legislation with Meath East TD and member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children, Regina Doherty.
Deputy Doherty spoke plainly about the need for legislation, and we hope to see her candor and frank discussion help the current abortion legislation to protect all women.
As a member of Fine Gael and advocate for health, Regina Doherty has expressed concern about the lack of clarity around abortion in Ireland. After the horrific death of Savita Halappanavar, Deputy Doherty said she wanted to support legislation to protect women’s lives. Now that the Heads of Bill have come up and we have the nitty gritty to deal with, Deputy Doherty needs to know, from the people she serves and represents, that the current legislation leaves many women falling through the cracks and in vulnerable positions. She needs to hear that access to abortion as an important issue of human rights and equality for the people of and in Ireland, and as such, powerful legislation for abortion that does not require a woman to sacrifice her health or her rights to privacy and happiness to acquire the procedures is vitally important to us. We are calling for less restrictive, punitive, and bureaucratic legislation than the current Heads of Bill for the “Protection of LIfe in Pregnancy Act,” and as a member of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children, Regina Doherty can help us move toward legislation that is better for the women of Ireland.
As the week goes on, we will focus on Fine Gael TDs from different areas, with different views but our main message is the same: We want legislation for abortion, legislation that provides for the health and rights of women, and we want Regina Doherty to know what we appreciate her candor in the response to Savita’s death and we look to her to support real change to abortion access in Ireland.
Tell Fine Gael TD Doherty that having access to abortion in Ireland is important to you and to the lives of women throughout the country.
Join as we all make the strong pro-choice voice in Ireland heard. Feel free to share your own views and ideas or have a lend of our sample messages that we included with the contact details below.
Regina Doherty, TD for Meath East and member of Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children, can be contacted in all of the following ways:
1. On Twitter: @ReginaDo
She is active and fairly responsive on Twitter, and we hope calm, respectful, but insistent messages will reach her there.
Example Tweet: I call on TD @ReginaDo to make good her intended support and amend legislation to make abortion accessible to all those women who need them. #ProChoice_ie #TellAFGTD
2. By phone: 087 655 6539 or 01 8257204
You can ring her office to either discuss the issue with herself or her staff, or you can leave a message.
Example Message: I am ringing to let Deputy Doherty know that access to abortion in Ireland is important to me. I want the rights and health of women respected and guarded. I want abortion in Ireland, and I call on Deputy Doherty to support legislation that will all allow women to get the health services they need in Ireland without onerous, bureaucratic barriers that threaten their immediate and future health.
3. By visiting her office in Ratoath:
Unit 2
Main Street
Ratoath
Co. Meath
4. On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cllr.regina.doherty
5. By email: [email protected]
Example email:
Dear Deputy Doherty:
I am writing to inform you that access to abortion in Ireland is important to me. I want the rights, health, and lives of women respected. And I want abortion legislation in Ireland that does not, as the current Heads of Bill do, leave many women falling through the cracks and in vulnerable positions. As a member of Fine Gael and advocate for health, you are in a position to help support that access to abortion as an important issue of human rights and health for the people of and in Ireland. And in your role on the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children, you can help create powerful legislation for abortion that does not require a woman to sacrifice her health or her rights to privacy and happiness to acquire the procedure. I want legislation to be less restrictive, punitive, and bureaucratic than the current Heads of Bill for the “Protection of LIfe in Pregnancy Act,” and I call on you to help move toward legislation that is better for the women of Ireland.
Respectfully,
[your name]
Come back tomorrow for Day 4 of Tell a Fine Gael TD Week.
