Will Ireland vote to change its current laws on abortion? Let us know whether you think the Eighth Amendment will be repealed in the poll below.
May 25, 2018, will be the day when the people of Ireland vote on whether to make Ireland's abortion laws - which are currently some of the most restrictive in the world - more liberal.
Currently, the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution of Ireland, ratified in 1983, gives mothers and unborn equal rights to life. On May 25, 2018, the Irish public will have the chance to vote to allow the Irish Parliament (Dáil Éireann) to put forth new abortion legislation.
While abortion is supposed to be allowed in Ireland if the life of the mother is at risk, it is illegal apart from this, even in the cases of rape, incest, or a fatal fetal abnormality. Despite this, it is estimated that as many as 12 Irish women a day travel abroad for an abortion or illegally purchase abortion pills.
Read more: Irish saints once carried out abortions, thought oral sex was worse
May 25 will mark the first time the Irish people will have voiced their opinions on the issue of abortion since 1983. There were unsuccessful referendums in 1992 and in 2002 which would have overturned this decision and removed the risk of suicide as a ground for an abortion, with regard to the famous "X Case", when a 13-year-old girl was denied abortion after she was raped.
The campaign on both sides is already well underway, with those living overseas being encouraged to return home if they still have a vote. Only those who left Ireland during or after December 2016 are still be entitled to a vote in the referendum.
A recent poll from the Irish Times suggests that there is a majority support for the repeal of the constitutional ban on abortion in Ireland, commonly referred to as the Eighth Amendment, although it also revealed a fifth of voters are still undecided. Support for the repeal of the eighth amendment had slipped since the paper’s last survey in January 2018 but still showed 47 percent voting Yes and 28 percent voting no.
Do you think Ireland will repeal its constitutional ban on abortion? Vote in the above poll and leave us your thoughts in the comments section, below.
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