My parents and ‘middle Ireland’ could decide Ireland’s abortion vote | Una Mullally

Older Catholics disilllusioned by the church's dogmatism hold the key to Friday's referendum. They know times have changed

When Irish people vote in Friday's referendum on whether to repeal the country's constitutional ban on abortion we will vote on a practicality: do we allow women to access healthcare in their own country? Because women in Ireland already have abortions. They have them in Britain, the Netherlands, or elsewhere in Europe. They also have them illegally in Ireland, by taking abortion pills bought online.

But the vote is also about something more profound - it is about confronting a historical social context and the enduring legacy of a dogmatic Catholicism that historically sought to control women's sexuality.