The Irish Government has said that a referendum will be held this summer on the eighth amendment which was inserted into the country’s Constitution in 1983 giving equal right to life to the mother and the unborn child.
The referendum will ask people whether they want to retain the eighth amendment, or "repeal and enable", which would see Article 40.3.3. removed from the constitution and replaced with new wording that gives responsibility for legislating on abortion laws to Ireland’s parliament, the Oireachtas.
Following advice from the Attorney General, the Government has decided the new clause will state that “provision may be made by law for the termination of pregnancies”. The finalisation of the wording will occur over the next month.
The Minister for Health Simon Harris is now working on drafting a Referendum Bill, which will provide the legislative basis for a referendum to be held. It will be published at the beginning of March, and will give a clear outline of the wording of the question to be put to the electorate.
If the referendum is defeated, there will be no change to the current situation.
Announcing the referendum decision on Monday evening, the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who trained as a medical doctor before entering politics, said if the referendum is passed, it will take the issue of abortion “out of the constitution and allow the legislature to do the job it should be doing”. The referendum is likely to be held towards the end of May, once the legislation is debated in parliament.
The cabinet’s decision to hold a referendum was unanimous, although there are differences of opinion over the proposal to liberalise access to abortion among politicians.
A separate piece of legislation will propose that abortion should be freely accessible up to 12 weeks. It is based on the recommendation of the all-party parliamentary committee on the eighth amendment which reported back to government in December.
While it is expected to be published by April, parliament will only vote on these proposals it if the referendum to repeal the eighth amendment is passed.
In 2013, abortion was legislated for under certain conditions such as if a woman life’s is at risk or if she is at risk of suicide. The law does not allow for abortion in the case of rape or incest or if there is a fatal foetal abnormality.
Asked what the Government’s decision said to the Vatican ahead of a visit by Pope Francis, the Taoiseach responded, “I don’t think it is about sending messages abroad; this is about our country. It is a decision that is going to be made by Irish citizens resident in the state. I have absolutely no doubt that they will make the right decision based on compassion and based on empathy but not in a way that is disrespectful to human life.
“If it does say anything, it is that the country has come of age because we are no longer willing to export our problems and import our solutions.”
Nearly 2,000 women a year take the abortion pill on the island of Ireland and Mr Varadkar said that they were currently doing that without any medical advice or supervision. “This is sure to result in another tragedy – another young woman losing her life sooner or later,” he warned. The most recent official figures from the UK’s Department of Health show that 3,265 women who gave Republic of Ireland addresses had abortions in England and Wales in 2016.
Responding to the announcement, the Pro Life Campaign’s spokesperson, Dr Ruth Cullen, warned that the Government’s proposal would lead to abortion on demand if voted for in the referendum.
Pic: (Left to right) Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Katherine Zappone, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Minister for Health Simon Harris brief the media on the government's plans for a referendum on Ireland's restrictive abortion laws, following a specially convened cabinet meeting at Government Buildings in Dublin.Read less Picture by: Niall Carson/PA Wire/PA Images
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