Wojtek, by "cannot afford" I meant "cannot afford", you know, as in haven't got the money to fly to England and get an abortion. What on earth has that got to do with "loving" a religion or a country? Organised religion has no power in Ireland. The abortion law is vestigial and anachronistic, as is the case with a lot of "moral" issues here, but it is not evidence of Ireland being a theocracy. Your characterisation of religion here as the, ahem, opiate of the people suggests you think that Ireland has not developed at all since the 19th century.
[WS:] I did not imply that at all. All I was suggesting that religiosity, conservatism, income level, education, and residence come in packages - In Ireland and elsewhere. The lower middle class residing in rural and small town areas (aka petit bourgeoisie) tend to be supportive of religion, patriotic, and also bone-headed on social issues, such as abortion or immigration. They are, of course only a subset of the population.
My counsel was to fuck them and let them bear the consequences of the own choices, and concentrate on the more progressive and promising element in society. This is basically a new "Southern Strategy" adopted by some Democrats on this side of the pond, transferred to another socio-political context. As they say, god helps only those who can help themselves. Ditto for progressives.
Wojtek