Judgment expected soon in rights of unborn case

A Supreme Court ruling on an important case about the rights of the unborn is expected to be delivered quickly, possibly within a fortnight.

The court has what is known as a “reading and writing week” next week, with no hearings, so it is expected to focus on the case, which could have significant implications for the forthcoming referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment.

Earlier this week, the court heard a two-day appeal by the State against a High Court asylum case ruling by Mr Justice Richard Humphreys in which he found that the unborn was “clearly a child” and had a range of constitutional rights, beyond the right to life contained in the Eighth Amendment.

A Supreme Court ruling in favour of the State would help the Government in maintaining its course for a May 25 poll.

However, should it lose its appeal, plans for the referendum could be put in doubt.

Chief Justice Frank Clarke has said the court may have to decide if the unborn had constitutional rights before the Eighth Amendment was passed in 1983, with the effect the unborn has a legal personality capable of asserting rights.

Lawyers for the State argued this week that if Mr Justice Humphreys’s judgment is allowed to stand there would be a range of consequences, including in the areas of medical treatment, succession law and for bodies such as the Child and Family Agency. They also alluded to a range of other potential consequences which would be “difficult to predict”.

There had been fears the issue could drift and create uncertainty in relation to the referendum as it generally can take several months for the court to issue a ruling. However, the court is expected to make use of the coming week, where it has no appeal hearings and only has to deal with short matters, such as case mentions and case management hearings.

At the end of this week’s hearing of the appeal, Chief Justice Clarke said it would give judgment as soon as it was in a position to do so.