Ireland will vote in a referendum on Friday that could liberalise abortion laws.
Camera IconIreland will vote in a referendum on Friday that could liberalise abortion laws. Credit: AFP

Ireland heads to the polls in landmark abortion referendum

AFP, staff writersNews Corp Australia Network

IRELAND will head to the polls today to vote in a landmark referendum that could liberalise abortion rules in the staunchly Catholic nation.

All terminations except in cases where the mother’s life is at risk are outlawed under current laws. But a successful “yes” vote would create time frames in which a mother could abort her pregnancy.

The referendum will decide whether to repeal the eighth amendment of the constitution, passed in 1983, which bans all abortions except where the mother’s life is at risk.

Since then around 170,000 Irish women have gone abroad for a termination, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said, as he called for voters to take a “once in a lifetime opportunity” to change the law.

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Prime Minister Leo Varadkar called for people to vote in this “once in a lifetime opportunity”.
Camera IconPrime Minister Leo Varadkar called for people to vote in this “once in a lifetime opportunity”. Credit: AFP
About 170,000 Irish women have travelled abroad for abortions.
Camera IconAbout 170,000 Irish women have travelled abroad for abortions. Credit: AFP

Draft legislation has already been prepared in case the country decides to become pro-choice, which would legalise abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to 24 weeks for health reasons.

Activists made a final push for votes on Thursday on the eve of a historic referendum, but opinion polls suggest the result is too close to call after weeks of bitter campaigning.

Voters backing liberalisation of the tough laws are believed to be slightly ahead, but one in six people are still undecided.

“I’m very hopeful, because I believe we have understood in Ireland that (the ban) is a cruelty that must end now, we’ve had enough,” Ailbhe Smyth, the co-director of the Together for Yes pro-choice campaign, told AFP.

But Geraldine Martin, a spokeswoman for the Love Both pro-life campaign, said the government had failed to help mothers with unwanted pregnancies.

“At no stage has the government held out its hand to these women and said, ‘How can I help you? How can I take the pressure off you so you don’t feel so driven towards abortion?” she told AFP.

The historic referendum comes just three years after Ireland voted to legalise same-sex marriage, and has dominated public debate.

Thousands of Irish expatriates have flown home to cast their ballots.

“No” campaigners have also been out in force.
Camera Icon“No” campaigners have also been out in force. Credit: AFP

WHAT THE CURRENT LAW SAYS

In 2012 the death of Savita Halappanavar, a 31 year old who died of sepsis after a miscarriage when she was denied a medical abortion, outraged public opinion and led to a change in the law.

The following year an exception was introduced to the amendment, authorising abortion in cases where there was a mortal risk to the mother, including the risk of suicide. Under this provision 26 abortions were performed in Ireland in 2014, 26 in 2015 and 25 in 2016.

Spreading information on how to acquire an abortion is also strictly controlled in Ireland.

Following the approval of the eighth amendment, Irish courts initially forbade agencies from helping women in their efforts to organise abortions abroad.

But the 14th amendment, voted in by a 1992 referendum, guaranteed the right of an individual to obtain “information relating to services lawfully available in another state”.

However this right was strictly framed by the Regulation of Information Act, adopted in 1995.

This law, among other things, forbids individuals to “advocate or promote” the termination of a pregnancy using “services outside the state”.

The act also obliges professionals giving advice to women about abortion to make them aware of all alternatives, encompassing scenarios such as adoption at birth.

Draft legislation proposes a woman could abort during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Camera IconDraft legislation proposes a woman could abort during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Credit: Supplied

ABORTIONS ABROAD

More than 168,000 women used this freedom to visit hospitals in England and Wales for abortions between 1980 and 2016, according to British Department of Health statistics compiled by the Irish Family Planning Association. By these figures, around 13 women who give Irish home addresses have abortions in England and Wales every day.

In 2011 Irish citizen Amanda Mellet was forced to travel to the city of Liverpool in the north of England to have an abortion when it was discovered the foetus of her child was mortally deformed.

Doctors reportedly told her the infant would be born dead or die shortly thereafter.

Considering herself to be a victim of unfair Irish legislation, she took her case to the United Nations Human Rights Committee which agreed she was subjected to “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment”.

Dublin paid her 30,000 euros ($A46,440) in compensation.

The tough abortion laws were introduced in 1983.
Camera IconThe tough abortion laws were introduced in 1983. Credit: AFP

WHAT WOULD REFORM LOOK LIKE?

If the pro-choice vote wins, the government will be tasked with drafting fresh legislation which, if it is passed by parliament, should legalise abortions during the first 12 weeks of a pregnancy and up until 24 weeks for reasons of health.