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Ireland is set to legalise abortion after an overwhelming majority voted Yes in Friday’s historic referendum.(Picture: AP)
Ireland has voted to legalise abortion after an overwhelming
majority voted ‘Yes’ in a historic referendum.
Thousands of Irish citizens took to the polls on Friday
to vote on whether to overhaul the country’s Eight Amendment which makes
abortions illegal except in cases where it endangers a mother’s life.
But today anti-abortion campaign leaders conceded defeat after exit polls predicted almost 70% said ‘Yes’ to repealing the amendment.
Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said the country’s resounding
vote to overturn a constitutional ban on abortion represented the culmination
of a ‘quiet revolution’.
He said: ‘The public have spoken. The result appears to be
resounding … in favour of repealing the 8th amendment constitutional ban on
abortion.
‘What
we see is the culmination of a quiet revolution that has been taking place in
Ireland over the last couple of decades.’
The Irish Government had earlier said that it intends to legislate by the end of the year to make it relatively easy for a woman to obtain the procedure in early pregnancy if the Yes vote wins.
Ministers have promised to allow terminations within the first 12
weeks, subject to medical advice and a cooling-off period, and between 12 and
24 weeks in exceptional circumstances.
Before the results were even announced, Save the 8th
campaigner John McGuirk conceded defeat.
Speaking on RTE One television, Mr McGuirk said: ‘The Eighth
Amendment didn’t create a right to life of the unborn child, the wording of the
amendment acknowledged the right.
‘It existed independently
of the people’s votes. It exists independently of what’s in the constitution۔
’ He said there were a lot
of people who voted No who are very aggrieved by the result. and added that
people in the majority should ‘accord respect and kindness to a lot of
people who are very upset.
‘There are people who are deeply broken-hearted at this outcome.
’ Reacting to the exit poll results, a director at the British
Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas) said Irish voters have shown that denying
women the right to abortion services in their own country in 2018 is not
acceptable.
Clare Murphy, external affairs director, said: ‘This is a
momentous step forward that is long overdue.
‘For decades, Irish women have been forced to travel hundreds of
miles to our clinics in England, often alone, at a huge personal and emotional
cost.
‘The result, once confirmed, means that the Irish government can
bring an end to this suffering, and legislate to provide the care women need at
home.
’ She added: ‘Now more than ever it is time for the UK Government
to show the same respect for the women of Northern Ireland
’ Ireland’s deputy premier, Tanaiste Simon Coveney, a Yes
campaigner, said last night that the referendum had made him proud to be Irish.
‘Thank you to everybody who voted today – democracy can be so
powerful on days like today – looks like a stunning result that will bring
about a fundamental change for the better.
‘Proud to be Irish tonight.
’ Health minister Simon Harris, whose proposed new abortion laws
were subjected to intense scrutiny during the campaign, tweeted: ‘Will sleep
tonight in the hope of waking up to a country that is more compassionate, more
caring and more respectful.’
Meanwhile, Fianna Fail TD Anne Rabbitte, who was in favour of retaining the Eighth Amendment, has said the results show Ireland is no longer a conservative society.
She said: ‘We might be traditional, but we’re not conservative.’
She added the huge turnout shows it is an overwhelming and resounding demonstration of support for repeal.
Despite voting No, Ms Rabbitte told RTE News she would be
supporting the Government’s plans to legislate for abortion because it was the
will of the people.
As predicted, urban areas appeared to have been more strongly in
favour of repeal, at just over 70%.
But according to the polls, rural areas also voted Yes, with
around 60 to 63% in favour.
A total of 3.3 million citizens were registered to vote in Friday’s referendum.
The Catholic Church was among influential voices calling for a No
vote, arguing that the life of the unborn should be sacrosanct.
The Yes camp, which portrayed itself as modernising and in step
with international opinion, said repeal would demonstrate Ireland’s compassion
for thousands of Irish women forced to travel to England for the procedure.
The debate during eight weeks of campaigning was emotive and
divisive.
While the leaders of all the main political parties backed change,
there were also many vocal and high profile advocates for the retention of the
Eighth.
The amendment is a clause in the Irish constitution which was written after a previous referendum on the issue in 1983 recognised the right to life of the unborn child.
It protects the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn
and effectively prohibits abortion in most cases.
In 1992, women in Ireland were officially given the right to travel abroad, mostly to the UK, to obtain terminations.
Pro-repeal campaigners say almost 170,000 have done so.
The liberalisation campaign gathered momentum in 2012 after an
Indian dentist, Savita Halappanavar, died in hospital in Galway aged 31 when
she was refused an abortion during a miscarriage.
Her husband, Praveen Halappanavar, said she repeatedly asked for a termination but was refused because there was a foetal heartbeat.
In 2013, following an outcry over Mrs Halappanavar’s death,
legislation was amended to allow terminations under certain tightly restricted
circumstances – the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act.
When doctors felt a woman’s life was at risk due to complications
from the pregnancy, or from suicide, they were permitted to carry out an abortion.
Under pressure from the UN about alleged degrading treatment of
women who travelled to England for terminations, the Irish Government began
exploring the possibility of further reform, culminating in the calling of
Friday’s referendum and the promise to legislate.
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