Introduction

In 2018, Ireland conducted a referendum, ultimately supporting the legalisation of abortion. The views of religious minority groups can go unheard ‘by an insensitive majority’ in national cultural debates. This study explores female Muslim Irish university students’ perspectives on abortion and the impact of the 2018 Irish abortion debate on their sense of belonging within Ireland.

Methods

Ten female Muslim university students completed semi-structured interviews. The interview comprised seven open-ended questions examining perspectives on abortion and a sense of national belonging. A thematic analysis was carried out on the data.

Results

Six major themes emerged: (1) specific circumstances, (2) Islam, (3) family, (4) misuse of new laws, (5) stable sense of national belonging, (6) consequences of historical abortion legislation. Participants were largely supportive of the legal changes. Participants indicated that their sense of national belonging might have been affected if their religious beliefs had conflicted with the referendum outcome.

Conclusions

Participants largely supported the legalisation of abortion in Ireland, provided that the new laws aligned with their Islamic beliefs. The research indicated the referendum did not affect young Muslim women’s sense of belonging in Ireland.

Policy Implications

Many national debates on social issues focus on winning majority support. This research highlighted the importance of canvasing and reflecting on the perspectives of people from minorities in order to reinforce a sense of larger political belonging.

中文翻译：

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2018 年爱尔兰堕胎公投后年轻女性穆斯林对堕胎和归属感的定性探索

介绍

2018年，爱尔兰举行全民公投，最终支持堕胎合法化。在国家文化辩论中，宗教少数群体的观点可能会被“麻木不仁的多数人”忽视。本研究探讨了爱尔兰穆斯林女大学生对堕胎的看法，以及 2018 年爱尔兰堕胎辩论对她们在爱尔兰的归属感的影响。

方法

十名穆斯林女大学生完成了半结构化访谈。采访包括七个开放式问题，考察人们对堕胎的看法和国家归属感。对数据进行了主题分析。

结果

出现了六大主题：（1）具体情况，（2）伊斯兰教，（3）家庭，（4）滥用新法律，（5）稳定的民族归属感，（6）历史堕胎立法的后果。参与者大多支持法律变革。参与者表示，如果他们的宗教信仰与公投结果相冲突，他们的民族归属感可能会受到影响。

结论

参与者在很大程度上支持爱尔兰堕胎合法化，前提是新法律符合他们的伊斯兰信仰。研究表明，公投并没有影响年轻穆斯林女性在爱尔兰的归属感。

政策影响

许多关于社会问题的全国性辩论的重点是赢得多数人的支持。这项研究强调了调查和反思少数群体观点的重要性，以增强更大的政治归属感。