View source for Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

{{Short description|Amendment recognising foetal rights}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=November 2021}}
{{Infobox Referendum
| name       = Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
| title      = "The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to
respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right."<ref>
{{cite web|url=http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/migrated-files/en/Publications/LocalGovernment/Voting/referendum_results_1937-2015.pdf|title=Referendum Results|work=[[Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government]]|accessdate=22 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200729124342/https://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/migrated-files/en/Publications/LocalGovernment/Voting/referendum_results_1937-2015.pdf|archive-date=29 July 2020}}</ref>
| country    = Ireland
| date       = {{Start date|1983|09|07|df=y}}
| yes        =   841,233
| no         =   416,136
| total      = 1,265,994
| electorate = 2,358,651
| map        = File:Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland referendum constituency map.svg
|mapdivision = [[Dáil constituencies|Dáil constituency]]
}}
The '''Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1983''' was an [[Amendments to the Constitution of Ireland|amendment]] to the [[Constitution of Ireland]] which inserted a subsection recognising "the equal right to life of the pregnant woman and the [[prenatal development|unborn]]". [[Abortion]] had been [[abortion in the Republic of Ireland|subject to criminal penalty in Ireland]] since at least 1861; the amendment ensured that legislation or judicial interpretation would be restricted to allowing abortion in circumstances where the life of a pregnant woman was at risk. It was approved by referendum on 7 September 1983 and signed into law on 7 October 1983. In 2018, it was repealed by the [[Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|thirty-sixth amendment]].

The amendment was adopted during the [[Fine Gael]]–[[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] [[Government of the 24th Dáil|coalition government]] led by [[Garret FitzGerald]], but was drafted and first suggested by the previous [[Fianna Fáil]] [[Government of the 23rd Dáil|government]] of [[Charles Haughey]]. The amendment was supported by Fianna Fáil and some of Fine Gael, and was opposed by the political left. Most of those opposed to the amendment insisted that they were not in favour of legalising abortion. The [[Catholic Church in Ireland|Catholic hierarchy]] and many lay Catholics supported the amendment, but it was opposed by the authorities of other mainstream churches.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=6 April 1983|title=Bishop defends Hierarchy on amendment|page=11|first=Dick|last=Walsh|quote=the views expressed by the Church of Ireland Primate, Dr Armstrong, on Sunday, about the divisive and denominational nature of the proposed constitutional amendment. … What was being attempted, he [Dr. Armstrong] said, was to force the theological thinking of one Church on all the people.}}</ref> After a bitter referendum campaign, the amendment was passed by 67% voting in favour to 33% voting against.

In 2018, a referendum was passed, known as the [[Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland]], which repealed the Eighth Amendment.

==Changes to the text==
The Amendment inserted a new sub-section after section 3 of Article 40. The resulting Article 40.3.3° read:
{{quote frame|The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.}}

==Background==
As per sections 58 and 59 of the [[Offences against the Person Act 1861#Abortion|Offences against the Person Act 1861]], [[abortion]] was already [[abortion in the Republic of Ireland|illegal in Ireland]]. However, [[Anti-abortion movements|anti-abortion campaigners]] feared the possibility of a judicial ruling in favour of allowing abortion. In ''McGee v. Attorney General'' (1973), the [[Supreme Court of Ireland]] had ruled against provisions of the Criminal Law Amendment Act 1935 prohibiting the sale and importation of contraception on the grounds that the reference in Article 41 to the "imprescriptable rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law" of the family conferred upon spouses a broad right to privacy in marital affairs.

The [[Pro-Life Amendment Campaign]] (PLAC) was founded in 1981 to campaign against a ruling in Ireland similar to the United States Supreme Court ruling in ''[[Roe v. Wade]]''.<ref name="Roe-v-Wade">{{cite report |title=Fifth Progress Report: Abortion |publisher=Stationery Office |location=Dublin|isbn=0-7076-6161-7 |archive-date=21 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110721123405/http://www.constitution.ie/reports/5th-Report-Abortion.pdf |url=http://www.constitution.ie/reports/5th-Report-Abortion.pdf |chapter=Green Paper on Abortion 1999 |year=2000 |author=All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution |page=A589}}</ref> Prior to the [[1981 Irish general election|1981 general election]], PLAC lobbied the major Irish political parties – [[Fianna Fáil]], [[Fine Gael]] and the [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] – to urge the introduction of a Bill to allow the amendment to the constitution to prevent the Irish Supreme Court so interpreting the constitution as giving a right to abortion. The leaders of the three parties – respectively [[Charles Haughey]], [[Garret FitzGerald]] and [[Frank Cluskey]] – agreed although there was little consultation with any of their parties' ordinary members.<ref>{{cite book |title=Gender, Politics and the State |chapter=The state and the discursive construction of abortion |year=1998 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=9780415164023 |first=Barry |last=Gilheany |edition=reprint |editor-first=Vicky |editor-last=Randall |page=72}}</ref> All three parties were in government over the following eighteen months, but it was only in late 1982, just before the collapse of a Fianna Fáil minority government, that a proposed wording for the amendment was produced.

==Oireachtas debate==
The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1982 was introduced on 2 November 1982 by [[Minister for Health (Ireland)|Minister for Health]] [[Michael Woods (Irish politician)|Michael Woods]]. The bill introduced by the Fianna Fáil minority government proposed to add Article 40.3.3° to the Constitution, with the wording shown above.

On 4 November, the [[Fianna Fáil]] [[Government of the 23rd Dáil|government]] led by [[Charles Haughey]] as Taoiseach lost a motion of confidence in the Dáil, leading to the [[November 1982 Irish general election|November 1982 general election]]. After the election, a [[Government of the 24th Dáil|coalition government]] of [[Fine Gael]] and the [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] was formed, with Garret FitzGerald as Taoiseach. Minister for Health [[Barry Desmond]] declined to reintroduce the amendment; instead, it was [[Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration|Minister for Justice]] [[Michael Noonan (Fine Gael politician)|Michael Noonan]] who on 2 February moved to restore the Eighth Amendment to the Order Paper.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/fitzgerald-railroaded-into-1983-abortion-referendum-barry-desmond-claims-1.3396713|title=FitzGerald 'railroaded' into 1983 abortion referendum, Barry Desmond claims|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|date=19 February 2018|access-date=10 March 2018|first1=Michael|last1=O'Regan|archive-date=10 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180310202207/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/fitzgerald-railroaded-into-1983-abortion-referendum-barry-desmond-claims-1.3396713|url-status=live}}</ref>

[[Attorney General of Ireland|Attorney General]] [[Peter Sutherland]] advised that the wording as proposed was dangerously flawed. Speaking against the original wording during the Dáil debate [[Alan Shatter]] argued:
{{blockquote|source=Dáil Eireann Debate ''Vol. 340 No. 3'' Col. 533.<ref name="committeedebate">{{cite web |url=http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1983042700006 |title=Dáil Eireann Debate ''Vol. 340 No. 3'' Col. 533 |publisher=Oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie |date=2015-04-21 |access-date=2018-04-09 |archive-date=26 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160826023016/http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1983042700006 |url-status=live }}</ref>|The irony is that I have no doubt, not merely from the interpretation the Attorney General has given but from the other interpretations that can be validly taken from the amendment, that if it in its present form becomes part of our Constitution it will essentially secure a constitutional judgment in the not too distant future requiring the House to enact legislation to permit women to have abortions.}}

To remedy the perceived weaknesses in the original wording of the amendment bill, the government proposed an amendment to the bill during the committee stage with the following alternative wording:
{{quote frame|3° Nothing in this Constitution shall be invoked to invalidate, or to deprive of force or effect, any provision of a law on the ground that it prohibits abortion.}}

This alternative wording was criticised by the opposition for not being "[[pro-life]]". Speaking against the alternative wording Michael Woods said:
{{blockquote|source=Dáil Éireann Debate ''Vol. 341 No. 10 Col. 2021''<ref name="committeedebate"/>|The amendment proposed by Fine Gael would not protect the constitutional right to life of the mother against attack by any future legislation which sought to prohibit abortion in all circumstances even when the life of the mother was at risk. This is a defect which could be important in the future. Such legislation could not be declared unconstitutional on the grounds that it ignored a mother's right to life because the Fine Gael wording provides that nothing in the Constitution may be invoked to invalidate any law which prohibits abortion.}}

A number of backbench Fine Gael TDs supported the Fianna Fáil wording, and voted against the government amendment, which was defeated by 87 to 65. The majority of Fine Gael TDs then abstained in subsequent votes. The original wording proposed by Fianna Fáil was then approved by 85 votes to 11 votes in the Dáil, and by 14 votes to 6 in the Seanad, and put to a referendum.

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Dáil vote on Final Reading of Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1982<br />{{small|Absolute majority: 83/166}}
|- style="background:#d8d8d8;"
| style="width:80px;"| '''Vote'''
| style="width:425px;"| '''Parties'''
|  style="width:80px; text-align:center;"| '''Votes'''
|-
|Yes || [[Fianna Fáil]] (73), [[Fine Gael]] (7), [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] (5), [[Independent Fianna Fáil]] (1) || {{Composition bar|85|165|hex=green}}
|-
| No || [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] (8), [[Workers' Party (Ireland)|Workers' Party]] (2), [[Tony Gregory|Independent]] (1)|| {{Composition bar|11|165|hex=red}}
|-
| Not voting || [[Fine Gael]] (63), [[Labour Party (Ireland)|Labour Party]] (3), [[Fianna Fáil]] (1), [[Ceann Comhairle]] (1)|| {{Composition bar|70|165|hex=gray}}
|-
| colspan="3" | Source: [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1983042700023 Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1982: Committee Stage (Resumed) and Final Stages.]
|}

==Referendum campaign==
The referendum was supported by PLAC, Fianna Fáil, some members of Fine Gael, the Catholic hierarchy, and opposed by various groups under the umbrella name of the Anti-Amendment Campaign (AAC), including Labour senator (and future [[President of Ireland]]) [[Mary Robinson]],<ref name="1983-01-28-irishtimes">{{cite news|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=28 January 1983|access-date=5 August 2016|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/1983/0128/Pg004.html#Ar00401|page=4|first=Caroline|last=Walsh|title=Group pledges fight to defeat amendment}}</ref> feminist campaigners, and trade unions.<ref name="1983-01-28-irishtimes" /><ref name="1982-12-10-irishtimes">{{cite news|newspaper=The Irish Times|page=15|date=10 December 1982|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/1982/1210/Pg015.html#Ar01503|access-date=5 August 2016|title=Abortion amendment 'dodges issue'|archive-date=15 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815135337/https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/1982/1210/Pg015.html#Ar01503|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|access-date=5 August 2016|newspaper=The Irish Times|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/1983/0107/Pg006.html#Ar00607|page=6|date=7 January 1983|title=ICTU praised on amendment stand|quote=The Anti-Amendment Campaign yesterday welcomed the recent statement opposing the constitutional amendment on abortion made by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions}}</ref> Few in Fine Gael or Labour campaigned against the referendum, and before the vote, Garret FitzGerald declared that he would vote against it. [[Sinn Féin]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Sinn Fein to build on electoral successes |author1=Michael Foley |author2=Colm Boland |newspaper=The Irish Times |page=16 |date=1 November 1982 |quote=It is understood that during the debate, which was closed to the media, delegates made it cleat that disapproval of the proposed amendmend did not mean that they were "pro-abortion".}}</ref> and the [[Workers' Party (Ireland)|Workers' Party]] opposed the amendment,<ref>{{cite news |title=Garland calls for CND support |author=Maev Kennedy |date=23 May 1983 |page=6 |newspaper=The Irish Times}}</ref> and the [[Irish Council of Churches]] (representing the main Protestant churches) campaigned against it.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thejournal.ie/1982-irish-council-of-churches-opposed-anti-abortion-amendment-709821-Dec2012/|title=1982: Irish Council of Churches opposed anti-abortion amendment.|newspaper=Thejournal.ie |publisher=The Journal|access-date=5 August 2016|archive-date=2 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160502171020/http://www.thejournal.ie/1982-irish-council-of-churches-opposed-anti-abortion-amendment-709821-Dec2012/|url-status=live|last1=Wade |first1=Jennifer }}</ref>

Anti-Amendment campaigners warned the vague nature of the amendment,<ref name="1982-12-10-irishtimes" /> the sectarian nature of it, the possible risk to the health treatment to pregnant women,<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=22 January 1983|page=17|access-date=5 August 2016|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/1983/0122/Pg017.html#Ar01705|quote=Dr Maura Woods said that treatment for women with cancer who became pregnant could be stopped if the amendment was passed|title=Abortion poll date queried}}</ref> and to the possible legal consequences for contraception, which the Pro-Life Amendment Campaign denied.<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Irish Times|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/archive/1983/0202/Pg005.html#Ar00501|page=5|date=2 February 1983|access-date=5 August 2016|first=Judi|last=Doherty|title=Referendum campaigners on both sides step up efforts}}</ref>

The Amendment passed on 7 September 1983 endorsed by 67% of those who voted.

==Result==
{{Referendum
|title      = Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland referendum<ref name=Ref_results>{{cite web|url=http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/migrated-files/en/Publications/LocalGovernment/Voting/referendum_results_1937-2015.pdf|title=Referendum Results 1937–2015|page=37|work=[[Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government]]|access-date=16 March 2018|archive-date=20 December 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171220195002/http://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/migrated-files/en/Publications/LocalGovernment/Voting/referendum_results_1937-2015.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>
|yes        = 841,233
|yespct     = 66.90
|no         = 416,136
|nopct      = 33.10
|valid      = 1,257,369
|validpct   = 99.32
|invalid    = 8,625
|invalidpct = 0.68
|total      = 1,265,994
|turnoutpct = 53.67
|electorate = 2,358,651
}}
{{clear}}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+Results by constituency<ref name=Ref_results/>
! rowspan=2 | Constituency
! rowspan=2 | Electorate
! rowspan=2 | {{nowrap|Turnout (%)}}
! colspan=2 | Votes
! colspan=2 | Proportion of votes
|-
! Yes
! No
! Yes
! No
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Carlow–Kilkenny (Dáil constituency)|Carlow–Kilkenny]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 75,490
| style="text-align: right;" | 52.0%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''26,751'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 12,134
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''68.8%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 31.2%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Cavan–Monaghan (Dáil constituency)|Cavan–Monaghan]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 74,237
| style="text-align: right;" | 55.3%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''33,165'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 7,556
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''81.4%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 18.6%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Clare (Dáil constituency)|Clare]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 61,747
| style="text-align: right;" | 48.9%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''22,136'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 7,838
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''73.8%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 26.2%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Cork East (Dáil constituency)|Cork East]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 54,309
| style="text-align: right;" | 57.1%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''22,131'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 8,657
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''71.8%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 28.2%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Cork North-Central (Dáil constituency)|Cork North-Central]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 63,272
| style="text-align: right;" | 49.0%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''19,877'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 10,862
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''64.6%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 35.4%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Cork North-West (Dáil constituency)|Cork North-West]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 40,873
| style="text-align: right;" | 62.3%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''20,554'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 4,694
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''81.4%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 18.6%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Cork South-Central (Dáil constituency)|Cork South-Central]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 69,102
| style="text-align: right;" | 55.7%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''21,342'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 16,909
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''55.8%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 44.2%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Cork South-West (Dáil constituency)|Cork South-West]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 41,614
| style="text-align: right;" | 58.0%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''18,446'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 5,510
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''77.0%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 23.0%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Donegal North-East (Dáil constituency)|Donegal North-East]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 42,203
| style="text-align: right;" | 53.1%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''18,475'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 3,807
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''82.9%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 17.1%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Donegal South-West (Dáil constituency)|Donegal South-West]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 45,823
| style="text-align: right;" | 47.2%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''17,693'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 3,838
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''82.2%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 17.8%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Dublin Central (Dáil constituency)|Dublin Central]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 70,403
| style="text-align: right;" | 49.6%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''21,508'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 13,174
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''62.0%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 38.0%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Dublin North (Dáil constituency)|Dublin North]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 41,713
| style="text-align: right;" | 53.2%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''11,898'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 10,228
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''53.7%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 46.3%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Dublin North-Central (Dáil constituency)|Dublin North-Central]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 55,426
| style="text-align: right;" | 60.7%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''19,203'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 14,301
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''57.3%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 42.7%
|-
| style="background:#ffc8c8;"| [[Dublin North-East (Dáil constituency)|Dublin North-East]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 46,686
| style="text-align: right;" | 58.6%
| style="text-align: right;" | 13,393
| style="text-align: right;" | '''13,831'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 49.2%
| style="text-align: right; background:#ffc8c8;" | '''50.8%'''
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Dublin North-West (Dáil constituency)|Dublin North-West]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 51,277
| style="text-align: right;" | 49.9%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''13,354'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 12,105
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''52.5%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 47.5%
|-
| style="background:#ffc8c8;"| [[Dublin South (Dáil constituency)|Dublin South]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 72,964
| style="text-align: right;" | 62.2%
| style="text-align: right;" | 20,517
| style="text-align: right;" | '''24,659'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 45.4%
| style="text-align: right; background:#ffc8c8;" | '''54.6%'''
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Dublin South-Central (Dáil constituency)|Dublin South-Central]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 73,510
| style="text-align: right;" | 51.0%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''21,016'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 16,170
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''56.5%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 43.5%
|-
| style="background:#ffc8c8;"| [[Dublin South-East (Dáil constituency)|Dublin South-East]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 64,222
| style="text-align: right;" | 53.4%
| style="text-align: right;" | 16,814
| style="text-align: right;" | '''17,292'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 49.3%
| style="text-align: right; background:#ffc8c8;" | '''50.7%'''
|-
| style="background:#ffc8c8;"| [[Dublin South-West (Dáil constituency)|Dublin South-West]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 58,429
| style="text-align: right;" | 55.3%
| style="text-align: right;" | 15,794
| style="text-align: right;" | '''16,294'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 49.2%
| style="text-align: right; background:#ffc8c8;" | '''50.8%'''
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Dublin West (Dáil constituency)|Dublin West]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 72,040
| style="text-align: right;" | 52.3%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''20,510'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 16,960
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''54.7%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 45.3%
|-
| style="background:#ffc8c8;"| [[Dún Laoghaire (Dáil constituency)|Dún Laoghaire]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 73,030
| style="text-align: right;" | 58.6%
| style="text-align: right;" | 17,876
| style="text-align: right;" | '''24,651'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 42.0%
| style="text-align: right; background:#ffc8c8;" | '''58.0%'''
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Galway East (Dáil constituency)|Galway East]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 43,043
| style="text-align: right;" | 50.0%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''17,166'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 4,219
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''80.3%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 19.7%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;" |[[Galway West (Dáil constituency)|Galway West]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 78,497
| style="text-align: right;" | 41.0%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''20,624'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 11,353
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''64.5%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 35.5%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Kerry North (Dáil constituency)|Kerry North]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 43,752
| style="text-align: right;" | 54.0%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''18,027'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 5,383
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''77.0%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 23.0%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Kerry South (Dáil constituency)|Kerry South]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 41,929
| style="text-align: right;" | 54.3%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''18,458'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 4,112
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''81.8%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 18.2%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Kildare (Dáil constituency)|Kildare]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 69,559
| style="text-align: right;" | 48.4%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''19,856'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 13,551
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''59.4%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 40.6%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Laois–Offaly (Dáil constituency)|Laois–Offaly]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 73,073
| style="text-align: right;" | 55.0%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''31,017'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 8,859
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''77.8%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 22.2%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Limerick East (Dáil constituency)|Limerick East]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 65,823
| style="text-align: right;" | 55.7%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''24,963'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 11,520
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''68.4%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 31.6%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Limerick West (Dáil constituency)|Limerick West]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 42,822
| style="text-align: right;" | 54.3%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''18,296'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 4,768
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''79.3%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 20.7%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Longford–Westmeath (Dáil constituency)|Longford–Westmeath]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 59,062
| style="text-align: right;" | 53.1%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''23,665'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 7,363
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''76.3%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 23.7%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Louth (Dáil constituency)|Louth]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 59,415
| style="text-align: right;" | 55.0%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''22,828'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 9,647
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''70.3%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 29.7%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Mayo East (Dáil constituency)|Mayo East]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 41,861
| style="text-align: right;" | 52.4%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''18,261'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 3,534
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''83.8%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 16.2%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Mayo West (Dáil constituency)|Mayo West]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 41,445
| style="text-align: right;" | 47.9%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''16,040'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 3,705
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''81.2%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 18.8%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Meath (Dáil constituency)|Meath]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 69,136
| style="text-align: right;" | 54.1%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''27,117'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 10,054
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''72.9%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 27.1%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Roscommon (Dáil constituency)|Roscommon]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 41,302
| style="text-align: right;" | 54.6%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''18,738'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 3,626
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''83.8%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 16.2%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Sligo–Leitrim (Dáil constituency)|Sligo–Leitrim]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 59,682
| style="text-align: right;" | 54.5%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''24,891'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 7,379
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''77.1%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 22.9%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Tipperary North (Dáil constituency)|Tipperary North]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 41,069
| style="text-align: right;" | 58.5%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''18,911'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 4,905
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''79.4%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 20.6%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Tipperary South (Dáil constituency)|Tipperary South]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 54,267
| style="text-align: right;" | 53.8%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''22,041'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 6,907
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''76.1%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 23.9%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Waterford (Dáil constituency)|Waterford]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 57,531
| style="text-align: right;" | 53.2%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''20,917'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 9,481
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''68.8%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 31.2%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Wexford (Dáil constituency)|Wexford]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 67,557
| style="text-align: right;" | 59.0%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''28,843'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 10,752
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''72.8%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 27.2%
|-
| style="background:#c8ffc8;"| [[Wicklow (Dáil constituency)|Wicklow]]
| style="text-align: right;" | 59,456
| style="text-align: right;" | 53.6%
| style="text-align: right;" | '''18,121'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 13,548
| style="text-align: right; background:#c8ffc8;" | '''57.2%'''
| style="text-align: right;" | 42.8%
|- class="sortbottom" style="font-weight:bold; background:rgb(232,232,232);"
|Total
| style="text-align: right;" | 2,358,651
| style="text-align: right;" | 53.7%
| style="text-align: right;" | 841,233
| style="text-align: right;" | 416,136
| style="text-align: right;" | 66.9%
| style="text-align: right;" | 33.1%
|}

==Judicial interpretation==
In a number of cases, the Supreme Court had held that this provision of the Constitution prohibited information within the state on the availability of abortion services outside of the state. In ''AG (SPUC) v Open Door Counselling Ltd.'' (1988), the courts granted an injunction restraining two counseling agencies from assisting women to travel abroad to obtain abortions or informing them of the methods of communications with such clinics, and in ''SPUC v Grogan'' (1989), the courts granted an injunction restraining three students' unions from distributing information in relation to abortion available outside the state. These rulings were overturned by the [[Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|Thirteenth Amendment]] and [[Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|Fourteenth Amendment]] in 1992, which explicitly gave people the right to travel abroad for an abortion, and to receive information in Ireland about abortion available abroad.

In ''Attorney General v X'' (the [[X Case]]) in early 1992, the [[High Court (Ireland)|High Court]] granted an injunction to the Attorney General restraining a fourteen-year-old girl who had been raped from obtaining an abortion in England. On appeal, [[Supreme Court of Ireland|Supreme Court]] found that as the girl had shown a risk of suicide, to safeguard "the equal right to life of the mother" in Article 40.3.3°, abortion was permissible in this instance.

The [[Pro Life Campaign]], a successor to PLAC, accused the Supreme Court of misinterpreting both the law and the will of the people. The Government and former Attorney-General Peter Sutherland dismissed such claims, arguing that, as they had claimed in 1983, the 'Pro-Life Amendment' was so poorly worded and ambiguous that it could facilitate either pro-abortion rights or anti-abortion interpretations in different circumstances.  The Amendment was not reinterpreted by the Supreme Court on the grounds originally voiced by Peter Sutherland that it would lead to abortion prior to viability or kill women by refusing standard treatments for ectopic pregnancies, cancerous wombs, etc. There was no medical evidence called during the X Case hearings.

In ''[[PP v. HSE]]'' (2014), the High Court held that the constitution did not require a woman who was medically brain dead to be kept on life support to keep the foetus within her alive, because the chance of the foetus being born alive were "virtually non-existent". It is unclear how the case would have been decided if the pregnancy was further along.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/court-clears-way-for-clinically-dead-pregnant-woman-to-be-taken-off-life-support-1.2048616|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=26 December 2014|first=Mary|last=Carolan|title=Court clears way for clinically dead pregnant woman to be taken off life support|access-date=8 August 2016|archive-date=16 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816041039/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/court-clears-way-for-clinically-dead-pregnant-woman-to-be-taken-off-life-support-1.2048616|url-status=live}}</ref>

In ''HSE v. B.'' (2016), the High Court declined to grant an order sought by the [[Health Service Executive]] permitting it to carry out a [[caesarean section]] against the will of a pregnant mother.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Irish Reports|year=2016|volume=2|page=350|title=''Health Service Executive v. B'' [2016] IEHC 605}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/judge-refused-to-order-woman-to-undergo-caesarean-section-1.2852130|title=Judge refused to order woman to undergo Caesarean section|first1=Mary|last1=Carolan|date=2 November 2016|access-date=21 March 2018|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|archive-date=5 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805054706/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/judge-refused-to-order-woman-to-undergo-caesarean-section-1.2852130|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/judge-refused-to-order-woman-to-undergo-caesarean-section-1.2852130|title=Forced C-section 'a step too far' court decides|date=2 November 2016|access-date=21 March 2018|publisher=[[Raidió Teilifís Éireann]]|archive-date=5 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200805054706/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/judge-refused-to-order-woman-to-undergo-caesarean-section-1.2852130|url-status=live}}</ref>

In an application for leave seeking judicial review of an order for deportation of a Nigerian man, Humphreys J held for the [[High Court (Ireland)|High Court]] in August 2016 that leave should be granted (i.e. the order for deportation quashed), in part because of the family rights of his unborn child by an Irish woman at the time of the deportation.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/unborn-child-has-significant-legal-rights-judge-rules-1.2741697|title='Unborn child' has significant legal rights, judge rules|date=2 August 2016|access-date=5 August 2016|newspaper=[[The Irish Times]]|archive-date=5 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805131112/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/courts/high-court/unborn-child-has-significant-legal-rights-judge-rules-1.2741697|url-status=live}}</ref> The state appealed this decision. On 7 March 2018, the [[Supreme Court of Ireland|Supreme Court]] upheld the High Court and dismissed the state's appeal in a unanimous decision that the Minister is obliged to take into account the fact of pregnancy; however, it reversed other sections of the High Court and ruled the Minister is accordingly not obliged to treat the unborn as having constitutional rights other than the rights contained in Article 40.3.3°.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/bce24a8184816f1580256ef30048ca50/af9213ad1cf44a3c80258249002acd3d|title=M -v- The Minister for Justice & ors [2018] IESC 14|access-date=7 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180307214501/http://www.courts.ie/Judgments.nsf/bce24a8184816f1580256ef30048ca50/af9213ad1cf44a3c80258249002acd3d|archive-date=7 March 2018|url-status=dead}}</ref>

==Later referendums==
Three [[November 1992 Irish constitutional referendums|referendums were held in November 1992]]. The [[Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1992|Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution Bill, 1992]] sought to exclude "a risk of self-destruction" as grounds for abortion, to overturn the central element of the decision in the X Case. This was rejected by 65% to 35%. The [[Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|Thirteenth Amendment]], permitting travel to obtain abortion in another jurisdiction, was approved by 62% to 38%. The [[Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|Fourteenth Amendment]], permitting information about services in other countries, was approved by 60% to 40%.

After these amendments, which became law on 23 December 1992, Article 40.3.3° read,
{{quote frame|The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.

This subsection shall not limit freedom to travel between the State and another state.

This subsection shall not limit freedom to obtain or make available, in the State, subject to such conditions as may be laid down by law, information relating to services lawfully available in another state.}}

A further referendum which proposed to insert legislation into the Constitution which would permit abortion where there was a threat to life but not where there was a risk of suicide, the [[Twenty-fifth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2001]], was narrowly defeated by 50.4% to 49.6%.

==Maastricht protocol==
The Treaty on European Union, or the [[Maastricht Treaty]], was signed on 7 February 1992. To assuage fears that free movement of services would lead to access in Ireland to abortion services, the government secured a protocol to the Treaty protecting the constitutional provision.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:1992:191:TOC|title=Official Journal of the European Communities, C 191, 29 July 1992|access-date=24 April 2018|archive-date=24 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424202524/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=OJ:C:1992:191:TOC|url-status=live}}</ref> The Maastricht Treaty was [[Eleventh Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|approved in a referendum]] in June 1992 by 69% to 31%. Following amendments to the [[Treaty on European Union]] affected by the [[Treaty of Lisbon|Lisbon Treaty]] in 2009, this provision now reads:<ref>{{cite web|url=https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.C_.2016.202.01.0001.01.ENG|title=Consolidated versions of the Treaty on European Union and the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Consolidated version of the Treaty on European Union Consolidated version of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Protocols Annexes to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union Declarations annexed to the Final Act of the Intergovernmental Conference which adopted the Treaty of Lisbon, signed on 13 December 2007 Tables of equivalences|access-date=24 April 2018|archive-date=24 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180424135650/https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv:OJ.C_.2016.202.01.0001.01.ENG|url-status=live}}</ref>
{{quote frame|Nothing in the Treaties, or in the Treaty establishing the European Atomic Energy Community, or in the Treaties or Acts modifying or supplementing those Treaties, shall affect the application in Ireland of Article 40.3.3° of the Constitution of Ireland.}}

==Legislation==
The [[Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013]] replaced the abortion offences in the [[Offences against the Person Act 1861]] and made statutory provision for the limited right to abortion established by the X Case. It replaced the offence of "unlawfully procuring a miscarriage" punishable to life imprisonment with the offence of "destruction of unborn human life", punishable by up to 14 years' imprisonment.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2013/en/act/pub/0035/sec0022.html#sec22 |title=Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, §22 |work=[[Irish Statute Book]] |publisher=[[Attorney-General of Ireland]] |date=30 July 2013 |access-date=11 February 2015 |archive-date=11 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211172615/http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/2013/en/act/pub/0035/sec0022.html#sec22 |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://www.merrionstreet.ie/en/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/protection-of-life-during-pregnancy-bill-plp-30-04-13-10-30.pdf#page=30 |title=General Scheme of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 |publisher=Irish Government News Service |date=30 April 2013 |access-date=11 February 2015 |pages=30–32 |chapter=Head 18: Repeal and Consequential Amendments and Head 19: Offence |archive-date=11 February 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150211143233/http://www.merrionstreet.ie/en/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/protection-of-life-during-pregnancy-bill-plp-30-04-13-10-30.pdf#page=30 |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Campaign to Repeal the Eighth Amendment==
{{main|Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland}}
The Campaign to Repeal the Eighth Amendment has its roots in the unsuccessful Anti-Amendment Campaign in 1983. There was a campaign to Repeal the Eight Amendment after the [[X Case]] in 1992, and the three abortion referendums which followed it (the [[Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1992|12th]], [[Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|13th]] and [[Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|14th]]).<ref>{{cite news|newspaper=[[The Irish Press]]|date=9 April 1992|title=Both sides in abortion row might vote "no"|page=4|first=Colm|last=Keena|quote=The Repeal the Eight Amendment Campaign which was founded yesterday ... It also wants a referendum on the abortion issue to include the option of voting or the repeal of Article 40.3.3}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|date=3 October 1992|newspaper=Irish Examiner|title=REAC protest|page=3|quote=Members of the Repeal the Eight Amendment Campaign (REAC) from Dublin, Cork, Waterford and other towns will be on the streets with a variety of music, street theatre and colourful banners in protest}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=Irish Independent|date=8 October 1992|page=8|title=Repeal group says the wording must be changed|first=Frank|last=Kahn}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=28 February 1992|page=5|title=Campaign urges repeal of amendment|quote=The Repeal the Eight Amendment Campaign is to hold a protest outside the GPO in DUblin at 6:30pm today, a spokeswoman for the campaign said. The campaign, which will be formally launched on Sunday week – International Women's Day|first=Uinsionn|last=Mac Dubhgaill}}</ref> The campaign lay dormant for more than 20 years until the [[death of Savita Halappanavar]] in 2012.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=Sharrow_ie|number=775012387783110657|author=Janet O'Sullivan|author-link=Janet O'Sullivan|title=@lalonde @chebegeek yes during and after the X Case, then went dormant for nearly 20 years.|date=11 September 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Irish Times|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/enactment-of-abortion-bill-very-sad-day-for-ireland-1.1480013|date=31 July 2013|title=Enactment of Abortion Bill 'very sad day' for Ireland|quote=Pro-choice groups will announce campaign in autumn to have amendment repealed...Pro-choice groups would announce details of a campaign to repeal the 1983 Eighth Amendment to the Constitution at the end of September, she said. Labour Party TD Aodhán Ó Riordáin said he and party colleague, Senator Ivana Bacik, would propose at the constitutional convention in the autumn that it recommend a referendum be held on repealing the Eighth Amendment|first=Kitty|last=Holland|page=7|access-date=30 October 2016|archive-date=4 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160404221421/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/politics/enactment-of-abortion-bill-very-sad-day-for-ireland-1.1480013|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|newspaper=The Irish Times|first=Kitty|last=Holland|date=27 July 2013|title=Abortion law: what comes next|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/abortion-law-what-comes-next-1.1476187|page=39|quote=plans are underway by numerous pro-choice groups for a campaign to get it repealed.|access-date=30 October 2016|archive-date=16 April 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170416034209/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/health/abortion-law-what-comes-next-1.1476187|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Abortion Rights Campaign]] was founded in 2012. The #RepealThe8th [[hashtag]] was started on [[Twitter]] in 2012.<ref>{{cite tweet|user=MsFrugalone|number=272667457997651968|date=25 November 2012|title=@MauriceDockrell I hope that happens too #RepealThe8th @savitaslaws @Berlinnaeus #marian}}</ref> The use of a social media to campaign to #RepealThe8th was an effective way to gain momentum leading up to the 2018 referendum. Twitter is recognised as 'one of the primary tools' for social justice, and in Ireland's case, allowed women to connect for collaborative social change despite the physical distance between them.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Smith|first=Stacy|date=2013|title=If Dr.Martin Luther Jr had a Twitter Account: A Look at Collective Action, Social Media, and Social Change|journal=Seattle Journal for Social Justice|volume=12|pages=167}}</ref>

This campaign is led by a coalition of [[Abortion-rights movements#Ireland|pro-abortion rights groups]], including the Association for Improvements in Maternity Services (AIMS) Ireland, the Coalition to Repeal the Eighth, the [[Abortion Rights Campaign]], Doctors for Choice, the Termination for Medical Reasons group, etc., and has support from a number of legal academics and members of the medical profession, including the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=22881|title=Master calls for new termination law|newspaper=IrishHealth.com|date=13 November 2016|first=Niall|last=Hunter|access-date=30 October 2016|archive-date=1 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161001212015/http://www.irishhealth.com/article.html?id=22881|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/irish-doctors-call-for-decriminalisation-of-abortion-1.2437846|newspaper=The Irish Times|date=20 November 2015|access-date=29 September 2016|first=Aine|last=McMahon|title=Irish doctors call for decriminalisation of abortion|quote=The letter has been signed by some of the leading figures in Irish healthcare, which include Dr Peter Boylan, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at the National Maternity Hospital on Holles Street and Dr Veronica O'Keane, Professor in psychiatry at Trinity College Dublin and consultant psychiatrist. The letter warns that criminalising abortion puts women’s and girls' health and lives at risk.|archive-date=2 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160102124003/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/irish-doctors-call-for-decriminalisation-of-abortion-1.2437846|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/20/abortion-laws-ireland-doctors-countries-call-relax|title=Doctors from 44 countries call on Ireland to relax abortion laws|date=20 November 2015|access-date=29 September 2016|first=Henry|last=McDonald|newspaper=[[The Guardian]]|quote=Some of Ireland’s most prominent physicians among hundreds of medics joining Amnesty campaign to decriminalise abortion|archive-date=5 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160605091656/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/nov/20/abortion-laws-ireland-doctors-countries-call-relax|url-status=live}}</ref> In the run up to the [[2016 Irish general election|2016 general election]], a number of parties committed to a referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment (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|archive-date=5 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160805182006/https://www.labour.ie/manifesto/reproductive-healthcare/|url-status=live}}</ref> 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.|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160919162253/https://greenparty.ie/policies/green-party-reproductive-rights-policy/|archive-date=19 September 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> Social Democrats,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://astaines.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Social-Democrats-2016-Building-a-Better-Future-2016-2026-Social-Democr.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=11 December 2017 |archive-date=27 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160327121503/http://astaines.eu/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Social-Democrats-2016-Building-a-Better-Future-2016-2026-Social-Democr.pdf |url-status=live }}</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|archive-date=16 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816161746/http://www.sinnfein.ie/contents/39220|url-status=live}}</ref> and Workers' Party)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.workersparty.ie/wpmanifesto/|publisher=[[Workers' Party (Ireland)|Workers' Party]]|title=Workers Party manifesto|access-date=29 April 2018|archive-date=30 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180430114034/http://workersparty.ie/wpmanifesto/|url-status=live}}</ref> as well as a group of feminist law academics published model legislation to show what a post-Eighth Amendment abortion law could look like.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Enright|first1=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=28 June 2015|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|access-date=30 October 2016|archive-date=1 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160401084125/http://journals.kent.ac.uk/index.php/feministsatlaw/article/view/174|url-status=live}}</ref> In June 2016, [[Minister for Health (Ireland)|Minister for Health]] [[Simon Harris]] stated his support for a referendum on repealing the 8th.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.newstalk.com/reader/47.301/76271/0/|title=Simon Harris wants a referendum on repealing the 8th|work=Newstalk|date=30 June 2016|access-date=5 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160820150522/http://www.newstalk.com/reader/47.301/76271/0/|archive-date=20 August 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 27 July 2016, the government appointed [[Supreme Court of Ireland|Supreme Court]] judge [[Mary Laffoy]] as chair of a [[Citizens' Assembly (Ireland)|Citizens' Assembly]] to consider a number of topics, including the Eighth Amendment.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Room/Releases/Government_appoints_Chairperson_to_Citizens_Assembly.html|title=Government appoints Chairperson to Citizens' Assembly|work=MerrionStreet.ie|date=27 July 2016|access-date=5 August 2016|archive-date=15 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160815010741/http://www.merrionstreet.ie/en/News-Room/Releases/Government_appoints_Chairperson_to_Citizens_Assembly.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The Assembly [https://www.citizensassembly.ie/en/The-Eighth-Amendment-of-the-Constitution/Final-Report-on-the-Eighth-Amendment-of-the-Constitution/Final-Report-on-the-Eighth-Amendment-of-the-Constitution.html recommended] a referendum to remove and replace the 8th Amendment. In September 2017, the [http://www.oireachtas.ie/parliament/oireachtasbusiness/committees_list/eighthamendmentoftheconstitution/ Oireachtas Committee on the 8th Amendment] began its work considering how to give effect to this recommendation.

The 5th Annual March for Choice, organised by the Abortion Rights Campaign, took place in Dublin on Saturday 24 September 2016 marking the Global Day of Action for Access to Safe and Legal Abortion. The theme of the rally was Rise and Repeal. The attendance was estimated to be around 20,000.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/thousands-taking-part-in-pro-choice-rally-in-dublin-1.2804559|title=Thousands taking part in pro-choice rally in Dublin|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en-US|access-date=16 November 2016|archive-date=20 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220124009/http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/thousands-taking-part-in-pro-choice-rally-in-dublin-1.2804559|url-status=live}}</ref> The 2017 March for Choice attracted 40,000 marchers, according to organisers.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2017/0930/908737-march-for-choice/|title=Tens of thousands take part in March for Choice rally|website=RTÉ|date=30 September 2017|access-date=6 April 2018|archive-date=26 June 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180626162718/https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2017/0930/908737-march-for-choice/|url-status=live}}</ref>

On Saturday 21 July 2017, the Rally for Life was organised by prominent anti-abortion groups including the Life Institute, Youth Defence, and the Northern Ireland group Precious Life, in opposition to the campaign.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/thousands-march-in-dublin-in-support-of-eighth-amendment-1.3140573|title=Thousands march in Dublin in support of Eighth Amendment|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=24 January 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=25 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020330/https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/thousands-march-in-dublin-in-support-of-eighth-amendment-1.3140573|url-status=live}}</ref> A march held on 10 March 2018 at Merrion Square was estimated to have had a turnout of 15,000,<ref>{{cite web |author=John Kilraine |url=https://www.rte.ie/news/2018/0310/946411-save-eighth-march/ |title=Tens of thousands march in favour of Eighth Amendment |publisher=Rte.ie |date=10 March 2018 |access-date=9 April 2018 |archive-date=9 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409043619/https://www.rte.ie/news/2018/0310/946411-save-eighth-march/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Drohan |first=Niamh |url=https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/thousands-march-favour-keeping-eighth-12164791.amp |title=Thousands march in favour of keeping the Eighth Amendment at Dublin rally |publisher=Irish Mirror Online |date=10 March 2018 |access-date=9 April 2018 |archive-date=9 April 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180409044309/https://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-news/thousands-march-favour-keeping-eighth-12164791.amp |url-status=live }}</ref> although organisers claim up to 100,000 attended.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/huge-crowds-join-prolife-march-in-city-36691934.html|title=Huge crowds join pro-life march in city – Independent.ie|access-date=29 March 2018|archive-date=13 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180313033007/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/huge-crowds-join-prolife-march-in-city-36691934.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

On 14 June 2017, the Taoiseach [[Leo Varadkar]] announced his government's intention to bring forward legislation to facilitate the holding of a referendum on abortion in 2018.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/world/irelands-new-leader-announces-abortion-referendum-despite-popes-visit/|title=Ireland's new leader announces abortion referendum despite Pope visit|date=15 June 2017|access-date=4 July 2017|archive-date=8 July 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170708053901/https://inews.co.uk/essentials/news/world/irelands-new-leader-announces-abortion-referendum-despite-popes-visit/|url-status=live}}</ref> On 9 March 2018, debate began in the Dáil on the [[Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018]], which would replace the current provisions on Article 40.3.3° with the following clause:
{{quote frame|Provision may be made by law for the regulation of termination of pregnancy.}}

On 25 May 2018, the Irish people voted by 66.4% to remove the Eighth Amendment, choosing to replace it with the above text as a part of the Thirty-sixth Amendment to the Constitution, permitting the [[Oireachtas]] (parliament) to legislate for the regulation of termination of pregnancy. When it was signed in to law by the [[President of Ireland]], it superseded the 8th, 13th and 14th amendments. 39 of the 40 [[Dáil constituencies|Constituencies]] voted in favour, the constituency of [[Donegal (Dáil constituency)|Donegal]] being the only one to vote against.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.rte.ie/news/eighth-amendment/2018/0526/966152-eighth-amendment-referendum/|title=Landslide victory for Yes side in referendum|last=McCarthy|first=Justin|date=2018-05-26|work=RTE.ie|access-date=26 May 2018|language=en|archive-date=26 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180526124212/https://www.rte.ie/news/eighth-amendment/2018/0526/966152-eighth-amendment-referendum/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Abortion in the Republic of Ireland]]
* [[Contraception in the Republic of Ireland]]
* ''[[A, B and C v Ireland]]'' (2010), a case decided by the [[European Court of Human Rights]]
* [[Fetal rights|Foetal rights]]
* [[Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland]]

==References==
[[Fiona de Londras]], Mairead Enright [https://policypress.co.uk/repealing-the-8th Repealing the 8th: Reforming Abortion Law in Ireland]

===Oireachtas debates===
{|class="wikitable"
|-
! House !! 1st stage !! 2nd stage !! Committee stage !! Report stage !! Final stage
|-
| Dáil
| [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1982110200028 2 Nov 1982]; [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1983020200005 2 Feb 1983]
| Feb [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1983020900004 9], [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1983021700004 17 (1)] [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1983021700027 17 (2)], [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1983022300035 23]; Mar [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1983030200023 2], [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1983030800022 8], [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1983032400005 24]
| Apr [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1983042700006 27 (1)], [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1983042700023 27 (2)]
|
| Apr [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/dail1983042700023 27]
|-
|Seanad
|
| May [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1983050400007 4], [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1983050500006 5], [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1983051000006 10], [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1983051100005 11]
| May [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1983051800005 18],  [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1983051900004 19 (1)], [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1983051900006 19 (2)]
| May [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1983052500005 25 (1)] [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1983052500007 25 (2)] [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1983052500009 25 (3)], [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1983052600006 26]
| May [http://oireachtasdebates.oireachtas.ie/debates%20authoring/debateswebpack.nsf/takes/seanad1983052600006 26]
|}

===Notes===
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1983/en/act/cam/0008/index.html Eighth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1983]
* [http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/en/constitution/index.html Full text of the Constitution of Ireland]

{{Amendments of the Constitution of Ireland|state=collapsed}}
{{Abortion in the Republic of Ireland|state=collapsed}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland}}
[[Category:1983 in Irish law]]
[[Category:1983 in Irish politics]]
[[Category:1983 referendums]]
[[Category:Amendments of the Constitution of Ireland|08]]
[[Category:Irish abortion law|08]]
[[Category:Constitutional referendums in the Republic of Ireland|08]]
[[Category:Abortion in the Republic of Ireland]]
[[Category:Abortion referendums in the Republic of Ireland|08]]
[[Category:September 1983 in Europe]]
[[Category:1983 in women's history]]
[[Category:1980s elections in Ireland|Amendment, 08]]