Vote for abortion celebrated
THE Centre for Reproductive Rights said yesterday it was celebrating the referendum result in favour of repeal of the Irish constitutional prohibition on abortion as “an intensely historic moment” for women’s reproductive health and rights in Ireland and globally.
The Irish voted by a resounding majority to remove the constitutional prohibition and enable Irish lawmakers to legislate on abortion.
Irish lawmakers can now reform Irish legislation on abortion and bring it into line with that of most other European countries.
The result will also enable Ireland’s compliance with the rulings of the UN Human Rights Committee in the ground-breaking Mellet v Ireland (2016) and Whelan v Ireland (2017) cases, brought by the Centre for Reproductive Rights on behalf of Amanda Mellet and Siobhán Whelan.
Leah Hoctor, regional director for Europe at the centre, said: “Today’s result marks an immensely historic moment for the women of Ireland.
“Irish laws on abortion have been among the most restrictive in the world and wholly out of step with legislation in almost every other European country. Now the Irish people have affirmed that women must be able to access safe abortion care in their home jurisdiction under the care of their own health professionals.
“The referendum result is also a landmark milestone in the global trajectory towards respect for women’s reproductive rights and the eradication of restrictive laws on abortion that harm women’s health and human rights. Through their compassionate vote in favour of women’s access to reproductive health care, the Irish people have provided women across the world with inspiration and hope.
The immense impact of this result will reverberate globally for years. Women living in countries with highly restrictive abortion laws can today draw renewed comfort and encouragement that law reform is possible.
“In its response to the Human Rights Committee in follow-up to the Mellet and Whelan decisions, the Irish government repeatedly outlined that constitutional change was a necessary first step to enable legislative change. Today’s referendum result has cleared the way for meaningful law reform.” – Centre for Reproductive Rights