Irish Public Votes 2 to 1 To Allow Abortion In Ireland

(Graphic is from The Irish Times.)

Ireland is a very Catholic country, and the Catholic church has always had considerable influence on what happens in that country. That is undoubtably why the country had an amendment to their constitution that gave unborn fetuses the same rights as women (the 8th Amendment). That amendment effectively outlawed all abortions in the country, and forced Irish women to travel to the United Kingdom to get an abortion.

But Ireland is changing. There were forces wanting to give Irish women control over their own bodies, and give them the choice of whether to have an abortion or not. But the first step had to be removal of that 8th Amendment to the Constitution. Last week, a referendum was held on removing that amendment.

The vote was overwhelming in favor of giving Irish women a choice -- the ability to control their own bodies. A whopping 1,429,981 people voted to remove the amendment, while only 723,632 voted to keep the amendment. That's 66.4% voting for choice and 33.6% voting against it -- about a 2 to 1 advantage.

There is now a bill being prepared in Ireland's legislative body, and by the end of this year, Irish women could have the right to choose.

 Éirinn go Brách!