Yes. Though we might be putting through some codes of conduct after our newspaper journalist hacked the voicemail of a murdered girl (Millie Dowler) and gave false hope to her parents. Unfortunately the restrictions are having problems passing legislation.

I’m libertarian in the British sense of the word rather than the American anti-everything let’s get some guns and stuff. So yes, my friend CAN talk about it, but I don’t know why she would bother. She could say whatever she likes, and I’d defend her right to say it…. But by the same token, speaking allows critique of speaking, and that’s what I’m doing - unintended consequences etc.

Without getting into the weeds of the abortion argument, I think the right to choose abortion belongs to a woman - but the right to offer abortions belongs to the State. Therefore the state can remove the offer of a service if democratically elected to do so. It’s nothing to do with men or women, rather pro-life vs pro-choice. Framing it as. feminist issue doesn’t help the discussion move along, because the vast majority of men are pro-choice, as are the vast majority of women. Rather this is a quirk in Democratic geography and religious affiliation. Read the article I wrote and the link back to the Roe v Wade article within for more. I think trying to make it a feminist issue hasn’t helped the democrats one iota and they need to look carefully at how issues like this are discussed and how that
Messaging (however fundamentally true you believe it to be) cuts through to the electorate as a whole.

I haven’t seen the saorise Ronan comment - so I can’t comment on that but I’ll go look it up.