Ireland tipped to repeal abortion ban by landslide

DUBLIN (AFP) — Traditionally Catholic Ireland looks set to “make history” by liberalizing some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said, as votes in the hard-fought referendum were counted yesterday.

The campaign to repeal a ban was predicted to win by a two-thirds majority, with an Irish Times poll of 4,000 saying the “Yes” camp was leading by 68 percent to 32 percent. Another poll by national broadcaster

RTE suggested an even bigger victory, with 69 percent to 30 percent backing reforms.

“Thank you to everyone who voted today. Democracy in action. It’s looking like we will make history tomorrow,” Varadkar, who backs the reform, said in a tweet.

The Irish Times survey suggested that women voted by 70 percent in favor of the proposal and 30 percent against. Support among men was 65 percent pro-choice and 35 percent anti-abortion.

People over 65, however, voted mostly against overhauling the current legislation, which only allows terminations in cases where the mother’s life is in danger.

Among the youngest voters, 18- to 24-year-olds, the poll found that 87 percent of respondents voted to allow abortion.

The exit poll showed “an overwhelming desire for change that nobody has foreseen,” Irish Times deputy political editor Fiach Kelly wrote.

“The victory for the ‘Yes’ campaign looks set to be neither narrow nor based on a few segments of Irish society. Rather, it will be carried high on the shoulders of a majority across the entire country,” he said.