Together For Yes is the national civil society campaign to remove the 8th Amendment. Together we are campaigning for a more compassionate Ireland that provides abortion care to women who need it.
Together For Yes is an umbrella group made up of over 70 organisations, groups and communities representing a diverse cross-section of Irish civil society. We are a huge grassroots movement built from the ground up over the last three decades and which has support in every community, village and town in Ireland. This broad groundswell of support shows that the overwhelming majority of Irish people want to change our abortion laws because they are too harsh.
A compassionate country
We represent those people who believe that Ireland is a compassionate country which needs laws that reflect the reality of people’s lives. We represent those people who believe that we must support, respect and protect women in their time of greatest need. Together For Yes is co-led by the National Women’s Council, the Coalition To Repeal The 8th Amendment and the Abortion Rights Campaign. We are broad and diverse, but we are focused. We are rooted in the experiences of women and their families, and focused on achieving laws and services that respond to women’s needs and to best medical practice.
The three organisations are joined in the Executive Committee by the Irish Family Planning Association. Together for Yes is also supported by a Strategic Advisory Group of individual experts.
Diverse views
The Together for Yes campaign respects the diverse views people hold on this issue. We understand that this is a complex and sensitive issue for many. We know that life is not black and white; that it is sometimes grey and complex. We believe that people in Ireland have the compassion to understand that the Constitution is not the place to decide the complexities of crisis pregnancies because it is too blunt.
This referendum is a critical opportunity for all of us to create a compassionate, supportive environment for anyone who need abortions in Ireland. Sometimes a private matter needs public support. For years, thousands of people in towns and villages across the country have been calling for the 8th Amendment to be removed, to end the pain and distress of women shut out by their own country. We are now Together For Yes.