Ireland votes in historic abortion referendum

Dublin, May 25 

Irish voters headed to the polls on Friday to vote in a landmark referendum on whether the traditionally Catholic country should liberalise some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe.

The campaign has dominated public debate in Ireland over recent months and has forced its nearly 3.5 million voters to decide if the constitutional ban on abortion should stay or go.

Opinion polls have suggested the result could be close, as  large numbers of voters were undecided. 

The law was tweaked in 2013 to allow terminations if the mother’s life is at risk, following the death of Savita Halappanavar, a pregnant woman originally from India, who was refused an abortion.

The Irish government has proposed that if the Eighth Amendment is repealed, abortion will be allowed up to 12 weeks and between 12 and 24 weeks in some exceptional cases. — AFP

Human lives matter 

• The law was tweaked in 2013 to allow terminations if the mother’s life is at risk, after death of Savita Halappanavar, a pregnant woman originally from India, who was refused an abortion.
• The Irish government has proposed that if the Eighth Amendment is repealed, abortion will be allowed up to 12 weeks and between 12 and 24 weeks in exceptional circumstances.