Earlier in 2015, a referendum on same-sex marriage passed with a high turnout and sixty-two percent in favour. In 2018, another referendum legalised abortion with an even larger majority. Both made me proud to be Irish, though as a non-resident I could not vote. The public discourse was exemplary. The government published model laws, and the independent Referendum Commission set out the issues in clear language. Many journalists, celebrities and ordinary people were moved to come out – about their sexuality, or about having travelled to England for an abortion. Both campaigns united the
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