Ireland To Hold Abortion Referendum

The Irish government has agreed to hold a referendum at the end of May 2018 on whether to reform the country's near-total ban on abortion.

The vote will decide whether to repeal a constitutional amendment that effectively bans terminations.
Currently abortion is only allowed when a woman's life is at risk, but not in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormality.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said that he will campaign for reform.

The ballot will not be on specific terms of any new law, but on whether to retain or repeal article 40.3.3 of the constitution, known as the Eighth Amendment.

The amendment, which was approved by a 1983 referendum, "acknowledges the right to life of the unborn" - meaning the life of the woman and her unborn child are seen as equal.

Before the vote, the country's health minister will draft legislation proposing unrestricted abortion access be made available to women up to 12 weeks, and in exceptional circumstances after.

An exact date for the referendum will be decided after it is debated in the Irish parliament.

Abortion in the Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland currently has a near total ban on abortion.

Terminations are not permitted in cases of rape or incest, or when there is a foetal abnormality and thousands of women travel abroad for a termination every year.

The eighth amendment to the Republic's constitution, introduced in 1983, "acknowledges the right to life of the unborn".

A campaign to liberalise abortion gathered momentum in 2012, after Indian woman Savita Halappanavar died in a Galway Hospital after she was refused an abortion during a miscarriage

The following year, legislation was passed  to legalise abortion when doctors deem that a woman's life is at risk due to medical complications, or at risk of taking her life.