Against the background of the Republic of Irelands constitutional amendment in the early 1980s, the X-Case of 1992 and the Maastricht Treaty debates, the paper will discuss the current debates on reproductive technology and embryonic research as well as the newly evolving debate on abortion. The focus of the paper is on the way and the arguments of the debate constrained by the historical relationship between church, state and medicine. As in many countries, the question of embryo research is tightly linked with the question of abortion. This is especially true in Ireland, since the discussion is still unresolved.
Comparing the “historical” discussion on abortion and the newer debates on AHR/ER seems to be very fruitful: On finding is that reproduction still is a medium through which competing national origin stories - that focus on Irish national identity and cultural self-determination - are imagined and expressed. This includes a heterosexual family narrative, a reduction of the pregnant woman to a (hostile) maternal environment, the construction of the fetus as an autonomous entity threatened from without and as Ireland as last line of defense against the encroaching moral decadence of Europe.
The most vocal power-player on the side of opposition to liberal politics are the Catholic Church and associated groups. But quite interesting, in the last two decades, the direct influence of the church hierarchy on the political elite as well as its influence on public opinion and the behavior of single individuals has changed. The church no longer possesses the sole power of defining Irish identity and moral values. On the side of the liberal forces, economic arguments seek to modernize Ireland making it attractive to foreign investors. Many are keen to avoid ethical debates reminiscent of the old materially impoverished and morally strict Ireland. Whether these tendencies will continue or provoke a countermovement has currently not yet been decided. Today, one can legitimately speak of a divide in Irish society along a religious-secular fault line.
