Although it is not the first referendum on abortion in Ireland, today can be decisive, if the affirmative prevails they will recognize remarkable rights for women. Ireland currently has one of the toughest abortion laws in Europe. Together with Malta, Andorra and the Vatican, it is one of the few European states that considers abortion as an illegal practice and can be sentenced to fourteen years in prison for women who abort and for health workers who offer them assistance.

Since the creation of the Irish Constitution, abortion has never been legal, but the Government has taken the decision to change the regulation by deleting Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution, known as Amendment 8. People have been asked to vote on this decision in a referendum.

According to the latest surveys, 44% of the population would be in favour of eliminating amendment 8 and 32% would be in favour of maintaining it. I'd have the rest.

Amendment No 8

Article 40.3.3 of the Irish Constitution, known as the Eight Admendment, denies women the right to decide about their own bodies, warns organizations advocating the repeal of the abortion ban. This is a violation of basic human rights.

Upon independence from the United Kingdom in 1922, Ireland adopted the United Kingdom Crimes Against the Person Act of 1861, which criminalized abortion. Despite the decriminalization of abortion both in the UK and in many other European countries over time, Ireland did not follow the same path.

Despite the fact that abortion is still illegal, they wanted to go even deeper into the prohibitions in 1981. They created the Pro-Life Amendment Campaign (PLAC), encouraging the majority of Irish political parties (Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Labour Party) to draft a bill that would approve Amendment 8.

In 1983, as a result of the promotion of the campaign by the Catholic Church, the Conservative Government persuaded him to accept the amendment. The vote on the amendment was held in a referendum that was convened in the same year, winning the vote in favor of the article that equals the rights of pregnant women and those of embryos, with 67% of the votes. Abortion is punishable in almost all cases, except when a woman’s life is in danger.

To abort, to the outside

In 1967, with the legalization of abortion in some cases by the British Parliament, Irish women began to go to hospitals in England and Wales for abortion. Thus, in a 1992 consultation on abortion in Ireland, two constitutional amendments were made: The ban on abortion under Amendment No. 13 does not prevent abortion from going to another country; and Amendment No. 14 states that it does not prohibit the provision of information on abortion abroad.

Despite the prohibitions, since 1968 more than 190,000 Irish women have had abortions. There too, however, poor women are doubly affected: in addition to the denial of the right to decide on their bodies, they find themselves unable to travel abroad and pay for abortion.

In recent years, however, the number of Irish women travelling to England has declined, and this may be the result of the legalization of contraceptives.

What a possible change would mean

If Amendment No. 8 is withdrawn after Friday’s referendum, a law called Protecting Life During Pregnancy will be provisionally introduced. Until the government finalizes a new law and presents it to parliament, women can continue to have abortions only when their lives are in danger.

Once the new law is established, and as reported by the Irish Government, abortion during the first twelve weeks will be legal in all cases. Once the woman notifies the doctor of her decision to have an abortion and the option is considered, after 72 hours the woman will be given an abortion pill if the same decision is maintained.

As far as abortions of 12 and 24 weeks are concerned, however, only in some cases will women be able to have an abortion: if their life is in danger, or if pregnancy endangers their health. The advice of two doctors will be sought in these cases to determine if an abortion is necessary.

In pregnancies of more than 24 weeks, on the other hand, abortion will only be possible if the fetus does not have the possibility of survival outside the uterus.