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==Background== |
==Background== |
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{{main|Abortion in the Republic of Ireland}} |
{{main|Abortion in the Republic of Ireland}} |
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The British [[Offences Against the Person Act 1861#Abortion|Offences Against the Person Act 1861]], which made "unlawful procurement of a miscarriage" a crime, remained in force after Irish independence in 1922. The 1983 [[Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|Eighth Amendment of the Constitution]], which declares "the right to life of the unborn ... equal [to the] right to life of the mother", was instigated by the [[Pro-Life Amendment Campaign]] for fear that the 1861 provision would be weakened by liberal legislators or activist judges. The 1992 "X case" ([[Attorney General v. X]]) ruled that abortion is permitted where pregnancy threatens a woman's life, including a threat of suicide. |
The British [[Offences Against the Person Act 1861#Abortion|Offences Against the Person Act 1861]], which made "unlawful procurement of a miscarriage" a crime, remained in force after Irish independence in 1922. The 1983 [[Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|Eighth Amendment of the Constitution]], which declares "the right to life of the unborn ... equal [to the] right to life of the mother", was instigated by the [[Pro-Life Amendment Campaign]] for fear that the 1861 provision would be weakened by liberal legislators or activist judges.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Quinlan|first1=John A.|title=The Right to Life of the Unborn--An Assessment of the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution|journal=BYU L.Rev|date=September 1984|issue=3|pages=371|url=https://digitalcommons.law.byu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2735&context=lawreview|accessdate=22 May 2018}}</ref> The 1992 "X case" ([[Attorney General v. X]]) ruled that abortion is permitted where pregnancy threatens a woman's life, including a threat of suicide. No regulatory framework within the limited scope of the X case judgment was passed until the [[Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013]], impelled by the 2010 [[A, B and C v Ireland]] case in the [[European Court of Human Rights]] and the 2012 [[death of Savita Halappanavar]] after miscarriage.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=O'Sullivan|first1=Catherine|first2=Jennifer |last2=Schweppe |first3=Eimear A. |last3=Spain |title=Article 40.3.3° and the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: the impetus for, and process of, legislative change |journal=Irish Journal of Legal Studies|date=20 July 2013|pages=1-17|url=https://ssrn.com/abstract=2304258}}</ref> The 2013 act repealed the 1861 act and makes "destruction of unborn human life" a crime. In the three years 2014–2016 a total of 77 legal abortions were performed under the 2013 act.<ref>{{cite web|title=Third Annual Report of notifications in accordance with the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas |url=https://health.gov.ie/blog/press-release/third-annual-report-of-notifications-in-accordance-with-the-protection-of-life-during-pregnancy-act-2013-laid-before-the-houses-of-the-oireachtas/ |publisher=Department of Health|date=29 June 2017|language=en}}</ref> Illegal surgical abortions in Ireland have been practically unknown since the UK's [[Abortion Act 1967]] made it relatively cheap and easy for Irish women to travel to Great Britain for a legal abortion. The [[Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|13th]] and [[Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|14th]] amendments to the constitution, passed in 1992 after the X case, guarantee the right to information about foreign abortions and to travel abroad for an abortion. The number of women at UK abortion clinics giving Irish addresses peaked at zzz in 19zzz and was zzz in 201zzz. The decline is partly due to unregulated use of [[abortion pill]]s illegally delivered from [[online pharmacies]]. |
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While left-wing parties and feminists opposed the 1983 amendment and have advovated its repeal, this was not supported by the two largest parties for most of the interim, [[Fianna Fáil]] and [[Fine Gael]]. In the 2010s while both parties' leadership opposed broad liberalisation, some accepted the argument for abortion in cases like fatal foetal abnormalities and pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, which are not permitted by the 1983 amendment. These became the focus of campaigning after the 2013 act. In the run up to the [[Irish general election, 2016|2016 general election]], a number of parties committed to a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment ([[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.labour.ie/manifesto/reproductive-healthcare/|publisher=[[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]]|access-date=5 August 2016|title=Reproductive Healthcare|quote=Our plan for the next five years: Hold a referendum to remove Article 40.3.3 (the 8th Amendment) from the Constitution}}</ref> [[Green Party (Ireland)|Green Party]],<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Green Party (Ireland)|Green Party]]|url=https://greenparty.ie/policies/green-party-reproductive-rights-policy/|title=Reproductive Rights|access-date=5 August 2016|quote=The Green Party supports the holding of a referendum to allow the people of Ireland determine whether or not the 8th Amendment should be repealed.}}</ref> [[Social Democrats (Ireland)|Social Democrats]],<ref>http://astaines.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Social-Democrats-2016-Building-a-Better-Future-2016-2026-Social-Democr.pdf</ref> [[Sinn Féin]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/39220|quote=Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan joined Amnesty Ireland campaigners and her Sinn Féin colleagues outside Leinster House today calling for a referendum to repeal the 8th amendment.|publisher=[[Sinn Féin]]|title=Sinn Féin support the Amnesty Ireland Repeal the 8th Campaign- Lynn Boylan MEP|access-date=5 August 2016}}</ref> and [[Workers' Party of Ireland|Workers' Party]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://workersparty.ie/wpmanifesto/|title=Workers' Party Manifesto|publisher=[[Workers' Party of Ireland|Workers' Party]]}}</ref>) and a group of feminist law academics published model legislation to show what a post-Eighth Amendment abortion law could look like.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Enright|first=Mairead|last2=Conway|first2=Vicky|last3=Londras|first3=Fiona de|last4=Donnelly|first4=Mary|last5=Fletcher|first5=Ruth|last6=McDonnell|first6=Natalie|last7=McGuinness|first7=Sheelagh|last8=Murray|first8=Claire|last9=Ring|first9=Sinead|date=2015-06-28|title=General Scheme of Access to Abortion Bill 2015|url=http://journals.kent.ac.uk/index.php/feministsatlaw/article/view/174|journal=feminists@law|language=en|volume=5|issue=1|issn=2046-9551}}</ref> |
While left-wing parties and feminists opposed the 1983 amendment and have advovated its repeal, this was not supported by the two largest parties for most of the interim, [[Fianna Fáil]] and [[Fine Gael]]. In the 2010s while both parties' leadership opposed broad liberalisation, some accepted the argument for abortion in cases like fatal foetal abnormalities and pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, which are not permitted by the 1983 amendment. These became the focus of campaigning after the 2013 act. In the run up to the [[Irish general election, 2016|2016 general election]], a number of parties committed to a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment ([[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour]],<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.labour.ie/manifesto/reproductive-healthcare/|publisher=[[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]]|access-date=5 August 2016|title=Reproductive Healthcare|quote=Our plan for the next five years: Hold a referendum to remove Article 40.3.3 (the 8th Amendment) from the Constitution}}</ref> [[Green Party (Ireland)|Green Party]],<ref>{{cite web|publisher=[[Green Party (Ireland)|Green Party]]|url=https://greenparty.ie/policies/green-party-reproductive-rights-policy/|title=Reproductive Rights|access-date=5 August 2016|quote=The Green Party supports the holding of a referendum to allow the people of Ireland determine whether or not the 8th Amendment should be repealed.}}</ref> [[Social Democrats (Ireland)|Social Democrats]],<ref>http://astaines.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Social-Democrats-2016-Building-a-Better-Future-2016-2026-Social-Democr.pdf</ref> [[Sinn Féin]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/39220|quote=Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan joined Amnesty Ireland campaigners and her Sinn Féin colleagues outside Leinster House today calling for a referendum to repeal the 8th amendment.|publisher=[[Sinn Féin]]|title=Sinn Féin support the Amnesty Ireland Repeal the 8th Campaign- Lynn Boylan MEP|access-date=5 August 2016}}</ref> and [[Workers' Party of Ireland|Workers' Party]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://workersparty.ie/wpmanifesto/|title=Workers' Party Manifesto|publisher=[[Workers' Party of Ireland|Workers' Party]]}}</ref>) and a group of feminist law academics published model legislation to show what a post-Eighth Amendment abortion law could look like.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Enright|first=Mairead|last2=Conway|first2=Vicky|last3=Londras|first3=Fiona de|last4=Donnelly|first4=Mary|last5=Fletcher|first5=Ruth|last6=McDonnell|first6=Natalie|last7=McGuinness|first7=Sheelagh|last8=Murray|first8=Claire|last9=Ring|first9=Sinead|date=2015-06-28|title=General Scheme of Access to Abortion Bill 2015|url=http://journals.kent.ac.uk/index.php/feministsatlaw/article/view/174|journal=feminists@law|language=en|volume=5|issue=1|issn=2046-9551}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 12:43, 22 May 2018
Background
The British Offences Against the Person Act 1861, which made "unlawful procurement of a miscarriage" a crime, remained in force after Irish independence in 1922. The 1983 Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, which declares "the right to life of the unborn ... equal [to the] right to life of the mother", was instigated by the Pro-Life Amendment Campaign for fear that the 1861 provision would be weakened by liberal legislators or activist judges.[1] The 1992 "X case" (Attorney General v. X) ruled that abortion is permitted where pregnancy threatens a woman's life, including a threat of suicide. No regulatory framework within the limited scope of the X case judgment was passed until the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, impelled by the 2010 A, B and C v Ireland case in the European Court of Human Rights and the 2012 death of Savita Halappanavar after miscarriage.[2] The 2013 act repealed the 1861 act and makes "destruction of unborn human life" a crime. In the three years 2014–2016 a total of 77 legal abortions were performed under the 2013 act.[3] Illegal surgical abortions in Ireland have been practically unknown since the UK's Abortion Act 1967 made it relatively cheap and easy for Irish women to travel to Great Britain for a legal abortion. The 13th and 14th amendments to the constitution, passed in 1992 after the X case, guarantee the right to information about foreign abortions and to travel abroad for an abortion. The number of women at UK abortion clinics giving Irish addresses peaked at zzz in 19zzz and was zzz in 201zzz. The decline is partly due to unregulated use of abortion pills illegally delivered from online pharmacies.
While left-wing parties and feminists opposed the 1983 amendment and have advovated its repeal, this was not supported by the two largest parties for most of the interim, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. In the 2010s while both parties' leadership opposed broad liberalisation, some accepted the argument for abortion in cases like fatal foetal abnormalities and pregnancy resulting from rape or incest, which are not permitted by the 1983 amendment. These became the focus of campaigning after the 2013 act. In the run up to the 2016 general election, a number of parties committed to a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment (Labour,[4] Green Party,[5] Social Democrats,[6] Sinn Féin[7] and Workers' Party[8]) and a group of feminist law academics published model legislation to show what a post-Eighth Amendment abortion law could look like.[9]
A Fine Gael-led government under Taoiseach Enda Kenny took office after the 2016 election with a programme which promised a randomly selected Citizens' Assembly to report on possible changes to the Eighth Amendment, which would be considered by an Oireachtas committee, to whose report the government would respond officially in debates in both houses of the Oireachtas. Leo Varadkar replaced Enda Kenny as Taoiseach on 14 June 2017 and promised to hold a referendum on abortion in 2018.[10] The Citizens' Assembly, chaired by Supreme Court judge Mary Laffoy,[11] discussed the issue from July 2016 to zzz 2017 with invited experts and stakeholders, and voted to recommend repealing the existing text and replacing it with an explicit mandate for the Oireachtas to legislate on abortion.[12] This recommendation was more liberal than media commentators had expected. The assembly's report was considered from September to December 2017 by a special Oireachtas committee of zzz members, which also discussed the issue with invited experts, and agreed by a zzz-3 majority to recommendations similar to those of the assembly. In January 2018, Minister for Health Simon Harris opened the Dáil debate on the committee's report by listing the numbers from each county who travelled to Great Bratain for an abortion in 2016.[13] Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin declared that he had changed his view on the issue and gave his support for Repeal of the Eighth Amendment and for the Committee's recommendations.[14]
Further action was delayed by a High Court ruling that a foetus was a child within the meaning of Article 42A of the Constitution, which guarantees children's rights. The Supreme Court agreed to expedite the government's appeal of the decision, and on 7 March 2018 overturned the High Court judgment, ruling that a foetus was not a child and had no rights other than the right to life mentioned in Article 40.3.3.[15]
- ^ Quinlan, John A. (September 1984). "The Right to Life of the Unborn--An Assessment of the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution". BYU L.Rev (3): 371. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ^ O'Sullivan, Catherine; Schweppe, Jennifer; Spain, Eimear A. (20 July 2013). "Article 40.3.3° and the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: the impetus for, and process of, legislative change". Irish Journal of Legal Studies: 1–17.
- ^ "Third Annual Report of notifications in accordance with the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas". Department of Health. 29 June 2017.
- ^ "Reproductive Healthcare". Labour Party. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
Our plan for the next five years: Hold a referendum to remove Article 40.3.3 (the 8th Amendment) from the Constitution
- ^ "Reproductive Rights". Green Party. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
The Green Party supports the holding of a referendum to allow the people of Ireland determine whether or not the 8th Amendment should be repealed.
- ^ http://astaines.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Social-Democrats-2016-Building-a-Better-Future-2016-2026-Social-Democr.pdf
- ^ "Sinn Féin support the Amnesty Ireland Repeal the 8th Campaign- Lynn Boylan MEP". Sinn Féin. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
Sinn Féin MEP Lynn Boylan joined Amnesty Ireland campaigners and her Sinn Féin colleagues outside Leinster House today calling for a referendum to repeal the 8th amendment.
- ^ "Workers' Party Manifesto". Workers' Party.
- ^ Enright, Mairead; Conway, Vicky; Londras, Fiona de; Donnelly, Mary; Fletcher, Ruth; McDonnell, Natalie; McGuinness, Sheelagh; Murray, Claire; Ring, Sinead (2015-06-28). "General Scheme of Access to Abortion Bill 2015". feminists@law. 5 (1). ISSN 2046-9551.
- ^ "Ireland's new leader announces abortion referendum despite Pope visit". 15 June 2017. Retrieved 4 July 2017.
- ^ "Government appoints Chairperson to Citizens' Assembly". MerrionStreet.ie. 27 July 2016. Retrieved 5 August 2016.
- ^ "Final Report on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution". Citizens' Assembly. 29 June 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ Harris, Simon (17 January 2018). "Speech by Mr Simon Harris TD, Minister for Health – Report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution – Dáil Éireann". Department of Health. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
In 2016, 3,265 Irish women travelled to the UK alone and we know that Irish women travel to other countries like the Netherlands too.
- ^ Murray, Shona (18 January 2018). "Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin backs repeal of the Eighth Amendment". Irish Independent. Retrieved 20 January 2018.
Following a long period of reflection and assessment of evidence before the Oireachtas Committee, I believe that we should remove the Eighth Amendment from Bunreacht na hÉireann and I will vote accordingly
- ^ "M (Immigration - Rights of Unborn) -v- Minister for Justice and Equality & ors : Judgments & Determinations : Courts Service of Ireland". Courts Service of Ireland. Retrieved 22 May 2018.; "Statement re. M & ors -v- Minister for Justice and Equality & ors [2018] IESC 14 : Judgments & Determinations : Courts Service of Ireland". Courts Service of Ireland. Retrieved 22 May 2018.