The people of Ireland will be asked to decide whether abortion should be legalised in the country. Under the Eighth Amendment of the predominantly Catholic country's constitution, abortion is banned unless the mother's life is in danger, making it one of the strictest, most draconian such laws in Europe.
The Irish government said a referendum could be held in May or June 2018, according to a statement from Leo Varadkar, the country's prime minister, the BBC reported. "Any amendment to our constitution requires careful consideration by the people," he said. "They should be given ample time to consider the issues and to take part in well-informed public debate."
The Eighth Amendment, which gives a pregnant woman and her unborn foetus an equal right to life, has been law since 1983. The law also bans abortion in cases of rape, incest, inevitable miscarriage and fatal foetal abnormality.
At present, women convicted of having an illegal abortion using pills obtained online can face up to 14 years' imprisonment, but they are allowed to travel abroad to be treated. Thousands of Irish women travel to the UK each year for the often costly procedure.
The UN Human Rights Committee last year deemed Ireland's abortion law to be "cruel, inhuman [and] degrading", and there has been a marked shift in public attitudes towards abortion in recent decades. In an Irish Times /Ipsos MRBI poll in May 2017, the majority of people agreed abortion should be legal in certain circumstances, with 73% of those respondents saying it should be allowed up until 12 weeks gestation.
Pro-choice campaigners, who have long been fighting to Repeal the 8th, said they are waiting for a date for the referendum to be confirmed and other campaign groups, including reproductive rights charity BPAS, and human rights campaigners said they welcomed the announcement and would be campaigning for the amendment to be repealed.
We look forward to a firm commitment to a specific date for a straightforward referendum to #repealthe8th @ailbhes https://t.co/JChdnq8k6e pic.twitter.com/Ni19F34YpU
— RepealEight (@repealeight) September 26, 2017
On behalf of the thousands of Irish women we have cared for, we will be calling for Ireland to #repealthe8th https://t.co/kqKp1I1Yw4
— bpas (@bpas1968) September 26, 2017
Well done Ireland!
— Femi (@Femi_Sorry) September 26, 2017
Better late than never, I guess...
(They're having a referendum on abortion next year.)#repealthe8th pic.twitter.com/Lcn6FnzPPK
Others suggested a referendum was the wrong approach, with Independent journalist Holly Baxter arguing that men "voting on whether or not women deserve bodily autonomy feels less and less liberating the longer you think about it."
Ireland's holding a referendum on abortion in 2018, so basically asking a 50% male group whether they think women deserve bodily autonomy
— Holly Baxter (@h0llyb4xter) September 26, 2017
Pro-choice activists will be holding a March for Choice in Dublin on Saturday 30th September.
If you're marching alone this Sat come and join us ARC peeps! Look for your local group ARC banner or join the main ARC group.#ARCMarch17 pic.twitter.com/bDNwcL9FgP
— Abortion Rights IE (@freesafelegal) September 27, 2017
All ready to #marchforchoice on Saturday! Thank you, @WillStLeger and @freesafelegal pic.twitter.com/3EeGufoWiA
— Cayla Williams Art (@CaylaArt) September 26, 2017
I look forward to raising our voices together at the March for Choice this Saturday in a call to #repealthe8th. Join us! #ARCMarch17 https://t.co/4xJ5HlzyJU
— Lisa Hannigan (@LisaHannigan) September 27, 2017
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