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and educational actions being taken by Polish legal clinics within to the current socio-political situation in Poland) . The writers
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the wide-ranging, social landscape of ongoing political activism. go on to remark that apart from cementing social stigma around
In Ireland, the role of social activists from associations like the issue of reproductive rights, adding the Article into the Irish
the Abortion Rights Campaign (ARC), constituted one part of a di- Constitution guaranteed that a change to abortion laws in Ireland
verse, cooperative effort alongside the many actions taken by le- could only be attained with another referendum. Ultimately, how-
gally focused organisations, such as the aforementioned FLAC, ever, it was this legislative circumstance and the legal precedents
the Public Interest Law Alliance (PILA), or pro bono organisations it began to create for many pregnant persons seeking a medical
like Lawyers for Choice and Human Rights in Ireland. Collabora- termination, which have prompted the formation of a feminist
tively and with an intersubjective emphasis on a legal education base of pro-choice legal advocacy in Ireland and exposed the dire
that is primarily presented as a ‘way to become more socially ac- need for legal education of all professionals on issues of inequal-
tive and aware’, these institutions have solicited not just an over- ity and gender discrimination. University-based legal clinics in Ire-
all cultural shift but successfully advocated for a change in Irish land therefore – through their commitment to providing this kind
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abortion legislation as well . Thus, Ireland’s example, as a country of teaching for their students – constituted an essential part of
as conservative in its Roman Catholicism as Poland, can function the following process of cultural and legislative change regarding
as a historical framework contextualizing the significant ways in reproductive rights.
which Poland-based feminist activism and University-led legal clin- Practically every law faculty at each Irish University has a stu-
ics are tackling issues concerning gender discrimination. Moreover, dent-led law society. Those institutions are centred around creating
it can inspire the way forward in the legislative fight for Polish cit- career opportunities and organising educational events with suc-
izens’ reproductive rights . cessful professionals from various fields. University-coordinated
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In 1983, sixteen years after the rejection of the Abortion Act in legal aid clinics, however, which operate in much fewer law fac-
the Republic of Ireland, the country’s electorate voted by referen- ulties in Ireland, foster a very different approach. One of the first
dum to add the Eighth Amendment regarding the ban on abor- student-based legal clinics was founded in 1986 at Trinity College
tion to the Irish Constitution, which read: “The state acknowledges Dublin by human rights activist and academic Karen Kenny, who
the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal established the institution to help future lawyers ‘become more
right of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as socially active and aware’ . In light of this history, each Universi-
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practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.” 10 ty’s legal clinic in Ireland is first and foremost considered as an or-
The extreme social distress that this legislative equation of a foe- ganisation creating opportunities for social engagement, putting
tus’ right to live (referred to as ‘the unborn’) and a pregnant wom- both the individual clients in need of legal assistance as well as
an’s existence has caused for women in Ireland at the time, was activism around issues of national human rights violations front
probably best summed up by contemporary Irish playwright and and centre. This emphasis on professional volunteer work, which
abortion rights activist Miriam Needham, who, just before the ap- prioritises socio-political change has prompted nine of Ireland’s
pellate referendum in 2018, remarked: ‘I think it’s important for University-based legal clinics to become part of the nationwide or-
us, for society, to be aware of the kind of trauma you can put ganisation of FLAC. In practice, this means that University-based
someone through by putting their humanity up for a vote’ . Even legal clinics are involved in the social activism solicited on a na-
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in 1983, a plethora of legal analyses of this law was in line with tional basis at FLAC, and that they can participate in any high-pro-
Needham’s view, emphasising that the addendum to the Irish Con- file legal case that representatives of FLAC argue before national as
stitution was a direct human rights violation. Many legal organi- well as international courts. Furthermore, it means that students
sations, for example FLAC, opposed the Amendment at the time working in those legal aid centres can seek advice and assistance
of its passing ‘on the grounds that it was confusing and would lead not just from academics working at the university, but lawyers pro-
to legal and medical issues that could be difficult to balance and fessionally engaged in the activist work at FLAC. Furthermore, all
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resolve’ . conferences that the students frequently organise have to be topi-
Furthermore, as Ireland-based abortion rights activists, Anna Car- cally centred around human rights activism and/or the promotion
negie and Rachel Roth point out, the new legislation was primar- of access to justice (e.g., the recent 2019 UCC FLAC conference
ily of a symbolic and political significance, shamingly designating theme was ‘Human Rights and Human Wrongs: Where Do We Go
all abortion seeking persons ‘like criminals’ and constituting one From Here?’) .
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of the many results of ‘a church-state apparatus intended to sub- This kind of coordinated, nationwide, grassroots cooperation has
jugate women’ (a characterization that rings true in reference made it possible for University-based legal aid clinics to be highly
receptive to ongoing social issues, allowing them to, swiftly and
impactfully get involved in the fight for human reproductive rights
in Ireland. Taking the activities of legal clinics in Irish Universities
8 Anna Carnegie, Rachel Roth, ‘From the Grassroots to the Oireachtas: Abor- and the significant impact they had, into account, the involvement
tion Law Reform in the Republic of Ireland’ in Health and Human Rights Journal of student counselling centers in Poland is in many ways compara-
(December 9, 2019) <https://www.hhrjournal.org/2019/12/from-the-grass-
roots-to-the-oireachtas-abortion-law-reform-in-the-republic-of-ireland/#_edn2> ble. Even though Polish legal clinics do not cooperate on a national
(accessed 17.9.2021).
9 It should be noted that the writers of this article recognize that a variety of peo-
ple, including women, transgender people, and nonbinary people, can become 13 Anna Carnegie, Rachel Roth, ‘From the Grassroots to the Oireachtas: Abor-
pregnant and need abortion care. We use the terms woman/women and person/ tion Law Reform in the Republic of Ireland’ in Health and Human Rights Journal
people throughout this article to reflect that. (December 9, 2019) <https://www.hhrjournal.org/2019/12/from-the-grass-
10 Article 40.3.3 of the Irish Constitution is typically referred to as the Eighth roots-to-the-oireachtas-abortion-law-reform-in-the-republic-of-ireland/#_edn2>
Amendment (1983-2018). (accessed 17.9.2021).
11 Miriam Needham in ‘Compostela Looks at the Comedown after Repealing 14 ‘FLAC Student Societies’ <https://www.flac.ie/getinvolved/student/> (accessed
the Eighth’ by A. McMenamin, Dublin Inquirer (August 7, 2019). 19.9.2021).
12 Official FLAC statement (May 18, 2018) <https://www.flac.ie/news/2018/05/18/ 15 ‘FLAC Student Societies’ <https://www.flac.ie/getinvolved/student/> (accessed
flac-supports-the-repeal-of-the-eighth-amendment/> (accessed 19.9.2021). 19.9.2021).

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