Abortion in Ireland is regulated by the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018. Abortion is permitted in Ireland during the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, and later in cases where the pregnant woman's life or health is at risk, or in the cases of a fatal foetal abnormality. Abortion services commenced on 1 January 2019, following its legalisation by the aforementioned Act, which became law on 20 December 2018. Previously, the 8th Constitutional Amendment had given the life of the unborn foetus the same value as that of its mother, but the 36th constitutional amendment, approved by referendum in May 2018, replaced this with a clause permitting the Oireachtas (parliament) to legislate for the termination of pregnancies.[1][2][3][4]
Abortion had been prohibited in Ireland by the UK Offences against the Person Act 1861. The Eighth Amendment was added to the Constitution by referendum in 1983, after concerns that laws prohibiting abortion could be found to be unconstitutional based on a right to privacy. In 1992, the Supreme Court held in the X Case that a thirteen-year-old girl who had become pregnant as a result of rape could be permitted to obtain an abortion in the state because there was a risk to her life from suicide. There were unsuccessful constitutional referendums in 1992 and 2002 that aimed to preclude such grounds for abortion in future cases. Between 1 January 2014 and 31 December 2018, abortion in Ireland was regulated by the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, under which abortion was illegal unless it occurred as the result of a medical intervention performed to save the life of the woman.
In 2012, Irish abortion law received worldwide attention on the death of Savita Halappanavar, who had been denied an abortion while suffering a septic miscarriage. This increased calls to repeal the Eighth Amendment. The constitutional and legislative provisions were discussed at a Citizens' Assembly in 2016–17, and at an Oireachtas committee in 2017, both of which recommended substantial reform and framed the debate of the referendum in May 2018.[5]
^"Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Act 2018". Irish Statute Book. Attorney General of Ireland. Archived from the original on 28 September 2018. Retrieved 23 December 2018.
^"Referendum Commission Detailed Results". Referendum Commission. 26 May 2018. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
^Lord, Miriam (25 May 2018). "Miriam Lord: Yes, Yes, Yes. A resounding, emphatic Yes". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 29 May 2018. Retrieved 29 May 2018.
^Bardon, Sarah (7 August 2018). "Women from Northern Ireland will be allowed access abortion in Republic - Harris". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 7 August 2018. Retrieved 8 August 2018.
^"Eight Amendment officially repealed as Michael D Higgins signs referendum bill into law - Independent.ie". Independent.ie. Retrieved 18 September 2018.
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