For me, there are two important time periods to concentrate on:

1. The 35 years since the Eighth Amendment was passed;

2. The next 31 days until polling day.

In the time since the Eighth Amendment was introduced, we have repeatedly seen that it is deeply flawed. However well-intentioned its insertion was, it has proven to be nothing but a constitutional straightjacket for doctors and, as a consequence of that, a straightjacket for women who faced and who continue to face crisis pregnancies. We have seen that the Constitution is not the place to deal with an issue as sensitive and intimate as this. It is medieval in its import and cruel in its practical implementation.

Most of us will have heard the stories of brave women such as Amanda Mellet and Siobhan Whelan and we all know the tragic circumstances that led to the death of Savita Halappanavar. Their stories show that, as a country, we have failed to protect them, and thousands of women like them. We haven’t treated our sisters, wives, mothers, and daughters with compassion at a time when they most need our care and protection.

In the 35 years since it was inserted into the Constitution, the Eighth Amendment has done nothing to stop women availing of abortion services. It has simply forced them to travel in their droves across the Irish Sea. How on earth can we say this is acceptable? What kind of society are we?

Figures from 2016 show that 3,265 women travelled from Ireland for terminations. They undertook that lonely journey in cars, trains, planes, and buses full of apprehension and dread, an unnecessary journey that they shouldn’t have had to take, but did, left with no other option.

In recent years, there has been a steady increase in the number of Irish women buying abortion pills online. They’ve been taking them isolated at home, fearful and without medical supervision or support. Perhaps believing it might be a cheaper, quicker alternative than having to travel, they are not informed of the dangers and the catastrophic repercussions they can have.

I heard Rita Galimberti, the former assistant master of the Coombe Hospital, tell a story recently about taking a call from the mother of a teenager from the West. Her daughter had taken an abortion pill at home but was now suffering from internal bleeding. This teenager was travelling to Dublin on the train in a panicked state for treatment.

Is this how we want to treat these women? Are we not ashamed?

We know that, today alone, three Irish women have taken illegal abortion pills. And another three will take them again tomorrow. Now is the time to say: “No more.” We can no longer tune out of what we don’t want to hear. We can no longer deny the fact that women in crisis situations are currently accessing abortion in an unsafe and unregulated way. Whether you agree with it or not, it’s happening. It’s reality. If the Eighth Amendment is retained, it will only get worse.

Removing the Eighth Amendment is the only way for us to care for victims of rape or incest. The expert advice on this is clear; we cannot legislate for rape and incest. There is currently no way for us to care for the women and girls who cannot continue with a pregnancy in these tragic circumstances. We further traumatise them by sending them away for their termination. We compound their misery and punish them by shaming them into having to journey far away from their home country to other, more humane shores. This has to stop.

Removing the Eighth Amendment is the only way for us to care for parents whose baby has a fatal foetal abnormality. Women and couples who receive this type of heart-breaking news and who wish to terminate their pregnancy are currently forced to travel abroad. They then carry their baby home on the plane or boat in a coffin.

Unconscionably, some wait for their dead baby to be sent back in the post.

Recently, I spoke to a woman who when told the news at 20 weeks pregnant that one twin had died and the other wouldn’t live, had to endure the further torture of having to go to the North to receive the help she so desperately needed. Our Ireland, our Republic, had nothing to offer her.

In my view, the next five weeks will finish with a defining moment in our country’s story. The result is far from certain and I know there are strongly held views on both the yes and no side of this debate.

But what is clear also is that there are sizeable numbers of people who are open to changing their mind or who are undecided. I and my Fine Gael colleagues will be doing all we can to persuade these people to vote yes on May 25.

Our job will be to ensure that people have the information and facts that they need to reach a decision. We will be facilitating experts in this area who can talk about the issues that are concerning people and we will also provide a platform to allow real people tell their own real life stories, just as we did last Saturday at an event hosted by the Taoiseach.

We will be joining with civil society groups such as Together for Yes and others in terms of attending and speaking at events across the country, we will be going out canvassing, and we will be distributing factsheet information leaflets.

I and my colleagues will use every opportunity to talk to the media to explain why we believe it is crucial to repeal the Eighth Amendment and call out those on the no side who are deliberately speaking untruths and scaremongering.

Repealing the Eighth is the right thing to do. In fact, I believe it is the only thing to do in a 21st century Ireland. I do not want to see another Savita Halappanavar case. I do not want to see another woman go to her grave unnecessarily. By voting yes we can provide a voice for the women in the graves, the women who died because of the Eighth Amendment.

I don’t believe Irish people want this country to be a place that is cold, uncaring, and neglectful towards women in crisis. I believe we should trust women and their doctors to make the best decisions for their own healthcare and vote yes on May 25.

Josepha Madigan is Culture Minister and Fine Gael’s pro-choice campaign co-ordinator