The last time she was in Ireland two years ago, Brianna Parkins made headlines for talking about abortion. Parkins, an ABC journalist from Sydney, was competing in the Rose of Tralee festival – a pageant “which brings young women of Irish descent from around the world to county Kerry, Ireland, for a global celebration of Irish culture” – when she publicly backed a referendum on abortion rights during an interview on television. “I think we can do better here in Ireland,” she said. Sign up to receive the top stories in Australia every day at noon “I think it is time to give women a say on their own reproductive rights. I would love to see a referendum on the eighth coming up soon. That would be my dream.” Parkins was referring to the eighth amendment to Ireland’s constitution, passed in 1983, which guarantees the “right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws … [Read more...] about Irish expats in Australia fly home to vote and fight for abortion rights
