Ireland is to hold a referendum on abortion in 2018, it has been announced.

A decision on the eighth amendment, which gives equal right to life to the unborn, will take place in May or June next year, according to Prime Minister Leo Varadkar’s government.

The public will then decide if abortion should be legalised “in almost all cases”.

We’ll tell you what’s true. You can form your own view. From 15p €0.18 $0.18 USD 0.27 a day, more exclusives, analysis and extras.

The move comes after a long fight by campaigners to “repeal the 8th”, which caught international attention. It also comes before the sixth annual March for Choice demonstrations in Dublin and London on Saturday.

Claire McGowran, a volunteer with London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign, told The Independent that they were waiting for an exact date and the wording of the referendum question and were ready to start a year of campaigning.

"Our ideal is that the eighth amendment is completely repealed, and not replaced," she said. "The very minimum is that it's not confusing anymore and gives free, safe abortions to women in Ireland regardless of how they became pregnant."

The United Nations Human Rights Committee called last July for the country’s abortion bans to be reversed.

Abortion Rights Campaign wrote on its website to advertise the march on Saturday: “This year we have learned of young children sectioned under the Mental Health Act for seeking abortions, of suicidal women denied access to the abortion they’re entitled to under the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act because their doctor doesn’t think they’re ‘suicidal enough’.

“Meanwhile in Northern Ireland women continue to be prosecuted for procuring their own abortions, even though the push to decriminalise abortion is growing in the rest of the UK.

Shape Created with Sketch. Thousands march in Dublin for Irish abortion rights Show all 5 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. Thousands march in Dublin for Irish abortion rights 1/5 REUTERS 2/5 REUTERS 3/5 REUTERS 4/5 REUTERS 5/5 REUTERS 1/5 REUTERS 2/5 REUTERS 3/5 REUTERS 4/5 REUTERS 5/5 REUTERS

“We need full repeal of the 8th Amendment in the Republic of Ireland, and proper legislation in Northern Ireland. We need access to free, safe and legal abortion for all who need or want it. And we need it now.”

Thousands of women seeking an abortion have had to travel to the UK every year to get the procedure, which is legal under Westminster, but Irish women have had to pay up to £4,000 for travel, accommodation and medical costs.

Ireland, a predominantly Catholic country, currently has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. The eighth amendment was voted in a time when contraception was also illegal in Ireland.

Independent news email Only the best news in your inbox Independent news email Only the best news in your inbox Enter your email address Continue Continue Please enter an email address Email address is invalid Fill out this field Email address is invalid Email already exists. Log in to update your newsletter preferences Register with your social account or click here to log in I would like to receive morning headlines Monday - Friday plus breaking news alerts by email Update newsletter preferences

A woman can face 14 years in prison for taking abortion pills which can be ordered online.

Terminating a pregnancy is only allowed under extremely rare circumstances where the mother’s life is in danger. This provision to protect the mother was voted into the Constitution in the 1980s by a large majority in another referendum.

However, referendums have recently led to progressive social change, for example, same sex marriage was legalised in 2015.

Various high-profile cases of women seeking bodily autonomy have forced the issue into the spotlight.

The UN committee focused on Amanda Mellet, who was 21 weeks pregnant when she was told that her baby would die in the womb or shortly after birth. She got an abortion in the UK but could not afford to stay long, and was forced to have her baby’s ashes flown to her separately.

In March, women across the country went on strike for a day, wearing black, to protest the laws. The campaign group, Strike 4 Repeal, was inspired by similar protests in Poland in 2016, where women took to the streets, waving coat hangers as a powerful symbol of women who were at serious risk via underground and illegal procedures.</s>Ireland will hold a referendum on abortion next year, it has been announced.

The decision to hold the referendum was announced by the Irish government on Tuesday afternoon.

The referendum will take place in "May or June 2018" which is a few weeks before Pope Francis is due to visit Ireland.

Abortion laws in Ireland are amongst the most conservative in Europe.

Last year, the UN Human Rights Committee described Ireland's abortion laws as "cruel, inhuman and degrading".

Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, who described the current abortion laws as "too restrictive", said having the referendum next year gave sides on both side of the argument a chance to shape their points of view.

"Any amendment to our constitution requires careful consideration by the people. They should be given ample time to consider the issues and to take part in well-informed public debate.

"Setting a timetable for the referendums to be held over the next two years will allow all involved in campaigning on the issues to plan ahead and to facilitate that public debate," said Mr. Varadkar.</s>(CNN) The Irish government announced Tuesday that a referendum on the country's abortion laws -- some of Europe's most restrictive -- will be held next year.

In a statement, the Irish government said the referendum would be held in May or June 2018, just months before Pope Francis is due to visit the Catholic-majority country.

Ireland's abortion laws are drawn from the 8th amendment to the country's constitution, which places the right to life of an unborn child on equal footing with the right to life of the mother.

Ireland's Prime Minister, or Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, who came to power in June, pledged to hold a referendum following the non-binding recommendations of a Citizen's Assembly. The group heard harrowing testimony from scores of Irish women and received more than 13,000 individual submissions

In Tuesday's statement, Varadkar said the Citizen's Assembly report was "currently being considered" by a parliamentary committee. The precise timetable for the referendum would be defined in legislation that would be brought forward.

"A Bill to amend the Constitution will be prepared in light of the committee's report, and subject to its passage by the Houses of the Oireachtas (Parliament), a referendum will be held in May or June of 2018."

Varadkar has generally expressed conservative views on abortion, although he has suggested the 8th amendment is too restrictive.

"Any amendment to our Constitution requires careful consideration by the people," he said Tuesday. "They should be given ample time to consider the issues and to take part in well-informed public debate."

Calls to "Repeal the 8th" have been steadily growing for years. In March, thousands of activists brought Dublin to a halt during the Strike 4 Repeal rally.

This Saturday, organizers expect tens of thousands to demonstrate in the Irish capital at the sixth annual March for Choice.

Many local abortion rights activists applauded Tuesday's announcement, but noted that the terms of the referendum might only be a first step for the repeal movement.

Linda Kavanagh, spokesperson for the Abortion Rights Campaign told CNN: "We welcome the news that the referendum will be in the first half of the 2018. We have all waited long enough to be allowed to make decisions about our own bodies."

"However we reserve judgment until we see the wording of the referendum...We fear that the wording of a referendum will offer only very limited abortion access and repeat the failures of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act."

"We need broad-based legislation so that real and realistic access is given, otherwise thousands will still travel or break the law by importing and taking abortion pills. It is vital that the government realize that the 30,000 plus people who take to the streets on Saturday for the March for Choice are doing it because they want free, safe and legal abortion access," Kavanagh added.

Anti-abortion campaigners said they would continue their campaign in light of Tuesday's announcement.

Cora Sherlock, a spokesperson for Ireland's Pro Life Campaign group told CNN: "We have never claimed that Ireland is perfect, but we have every reason to be proud of the 8th Amendment.

"The Pro Life Campaign will continue to highlight the positive effects of the 8th Amendment and the devastating effect abortion has had in countries where the rights of the baby are set at zero."</s>Ireland says will hold abortion referendum in 2018

A Pro-Life campaigner demonstrates outside the Irish Parliament ahead of a vote to allow limited abortion in Ireland, Dublin July 10, 2013. — Reuters picDUBLIN, Sept 26 — Ireland will hold a referendum next year on whether to repeal its constitutional ban on abortion in almost all cases, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar's government announced today.

The vote on the eighth amendment, which makes abortion illegal unless there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother, will take place in May or June 2018, a statement said. — AFP</s>Ireland will hold a referendum next year on whether to repeal its constitutional ban on abortion in almost all cases - just a few weeks before Pope Francis visits, the government said Tuesday.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has previously said the eighth amendment, which makes abortion illegal unless there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother, was "too restrictive".

His government agreed Tuesday to hold the vote in "May or June 2018" - just before the pope visits in August to attend the World Meeting of Families.

Abortion has always been illegal in Ireland but was inserted into the constitution in 1983 following a referendum, in which 67 percent of voters were in favour and 33 percent against.

A woman convicted of having an illegal termination faces 14 years imprisonment.

However, women are free to travel abroad for abortions and thousands do so every year, mainly to England.

Opinion polls in recent years have consistently indicated strong support for reform in Ireland, which remains largely Catholic but where scandals have dented the church's authority.

Last year, the UN Human Rights Committee found Ireland's abortion laws "cruel, inhuman and degrading".

The referendum was announced as the government set out a timetable for several votes over the next two years, including one on Ireland's controversial anti-blasphemy law.</s>Dublin – Ireland announced it will hold a referendum next year on whether to repeal its constitutional ban on abortion in almost all cases – just a few weeks before Pope Francis visits.

The government is also planning votes to remove Ireland's anti-blasphemy law and to reduce the time couples must spend apart before divorcing.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has previously said the eighth amendment of the constitution, which makes abortion illegal unless there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother, was "too restrictive".

His government has decided on Tuesday that a referendum – which must be agreed by parliament – should take place in May or June 2018, just before the pope visits in August to attend the World Meeting of Families.

Abortion has always been illegal in Ireland but was inserted into the constitution in 1983 following a referendum, in which 67% of voters were in favour and 33% against.

The eighth amendment recognises the equal right to life of the unborn child and the mother – and a woman convicted of having an illegal termination faces 14 years in prison.

However, women are free to travel abroad for abortions and thousands do so every year, mainly to England.

Opinion polls in recent years have consistently indicated strong support for reform in Ireland, which remains largely Catholic but where scandals have dented the church's authority.

Thousands of people are expected in Dublin on Saturday for the annual "March for Choice", declaring: "We are ready for change".

"We need access to free, safe and legal abortion for all who need or want it. And we need it now," organisers said.

The Abortion Rights Campaign said it "cautiously" welcomed the announcement.

"It depends on the wording of the referendum," spokesperson Linda Kavanagh told AFP, fearing that it could be watered down from broad access to abortion.

Meanwhile, Cora Sherlock, spokesperson of the Pro-Life Campaign, told AFP: "If the eighth amendment were to be amended or repealed, we would inevitably end up with a situation similar to every other country which introduced abortion on 'restrictive' grounds but subsequently ended up with abortion on wide-ranging grounds."

The Irish constitution can only be amended by referendum, and in 2015 it became the first country to legalise gay marriage that way.

The government set out a timetable on Tuesday for several votes over the next two years, including on reducing the time couples must wait before a divorce from four to two years.

In October 2018, it proposes a referendum on the constitutional amendment which makes illegal the "publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious or indecent matter".

At the same time, it proposes a vote to repeal or change a section relating to a woman's duties in the home, perhaps to make it gender neutral and to include other caring responsibilities.

"Any amendment to our constitution requires careful consideration by the people," Varadkar said in a statement.

"They should be given ample time to consider the issues and to take part in well-informed public debate," he said.

"Setting a timetable for the referendums to be held over the next two years will allow all involved in campaigning on the issues to plan ahead and to facilitate that public debate."</s>Ireland plans to hold a referendum next May or June on whether it should loosen some of the strictest abortion laws in the world, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said on Tuesday.

Abortion has long been a divisive issue in once stridently Catholic Ireland where, after a debate elicited large street protests from both sides, a complete ban was lifted in 2013. Terminations were allowed if a mother's life was in danger.

"The ... proposal is to have a standalone referendum in May or June next year and will very much follow on from the recommendations of the all-party committee which is considering the matter," Varadkar told parliament.

A panel of citizens called together to advise government on the issue voted overwhelmingly that the eighth amendment of the constitution, which enshrines an equal right to life of the mother and her unborn child, should be changed.

The all-party committee is considering those recommendations and is due to report to parliament by the end of the year on the referendum and potential shape of future legislation. Opinion polls show a large majority of voters want some change.

Ireland became the first country to adopt gay marriage by popular vote in 2015 and campaigners seeking a repeal of the eighth amendment want that social change extended to abortion, citing the thousands of Irish women who travel abroad, mostly to England, for terminations each year.

Anti-abortion supporters demand no further changes to the law.

Ireland has held previous abortion-related referendums in 1992 and 2002.

The human rights arms of the United Nations and Council of Europe have pressed the government to, at a very minimum, decriminalize abortion and widen the law to allow for abortion in cases of fatal fetal abnormality, rape or incest.

The referendum on abortion will be among seven the government plans to call within the next two years, it said on Tuesday, including a vote to remove the crime of blasphemy from the constitution.</s>Ireland says it will hold an abortion referendum in 2018.

Abortion is currently illegal in Ireland, unless its performed as a medical intervention to save the mother's life.

It means that thousands of women travel abroad every year to access abortion in other countries, or put their lives and their health at risk in unsafe procedures.

Earlier this year, statistics showed a drop in the number of Irish women travelling to the UK for abortions, as those who gave Irish addresses dropped.

But there were concerns that more women were choosing to have abortions at home, accessing pills online.

Some 3,265 women gave Irish addresses at clinics and hospitals in England and Wales last year - a drop of almost 200 on the previous year and down from 6,673 in 2001.

According to the Irish Times, the referendum will be set for May or June next year.

The paper reports that the referendum came to light through a memorandum Taoiseach Leo Varadkar will take to his cabinet meeting this week.

It may be run on the same day as other votes being held in the country.

Abortion law in Ireland has been a huge source of anger and protest for several years.

The right of life for an unborn child is enshrined in the countries constitution, referred to in the eighth amendment.

It is also an offence to 'intentionally destroy an unborn human life'.

Those who are found guilty can face jail for up to 14 years.

Celebrities including Cillian Murphy, Holly Carpenter and Father Ted creator Graham Linehan have been among those who have previously marched through Dublin to argue for a change to the law.

Last spring, 25,000 people marched through Dublin in a 'Repeal the 8th' march.

But the law has its supporters too, and earlier this year, pro-life supporters rallied for their annual Right for Life march.

The Citizens Assembly has previously recommended that the law be changed to allow abortion without restriction up to 12 weeks.</s>LONDON — Ireland’s prime minister says the country will hold a referendum on lifting its constitutional ban on abortion in May or June.

Leo Varadkar told lawmakers on Tuesday that the government has agreed an “indicative timeline” for the vote on the Eighth Amendment to the Irish constitution.

The 1983 amendment commits authorities to defend equally the right to life of the mother and unborn child, giving largely Roman Catholic Ireland the strictest abortion ban in Europe. Abortion is legal only in rare cases where the mother’s life is in danger.

Several thousand Irishwomen travel each year for abortions in neighbouring Britain.

Ireland’s parliament still has to approve a bill authorizing the referendum.

Varadkar also announced plans for referendums on issues including Ireland’s blasphemy law and its restrictive divorce laws.</s>Ireland will hold a referendum next year on whether to repeal its constitutional ban on abortion in almost all cases, a few weeks before Pope Francis visits.



The prime minister, Leo Varadkar, has previously said the eighth amendment, which makes abortion illegal unless there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother, is “too restrictive”.

The Irish government said the vote would be held in May or June 2018. The pope is due to visit in August to attend the World Meeting of Families.

Abortion has always been illegal in Ireland, but a ban was inserted into the constitution in 1983 after a referendum in which 67% of voters were in favour and 33% against.

A woman convicted of having an illegal termination in Ireland faces up to 14 years in prison. However, women are free to travel abroad for abortions, and thousands do so every year, mainly to England.

Opinion polls in recent years have consistently indicated strong support for reform in Ireland, which remains largely Catholic, but where scandals have dented the church’s authority.

Last year, the UN human rights committee said Ireland’s abortion laws were “cruel, inhuman and degrading”. It repeated this criticism in June.

The referendum was announced as the Irish government set out a timetable for several votes over the next two years, including one on Ireland’s controversial anti-blasphemy law.

In 2015, Ireland became the first country to legalise gay marriage in a referendum.

Varadkar said in a statement: “Any amendment to our constitution requires careful consideration by the people. They should be given ample time to consider the issues and to take part in well-informed public debate.

“Setting a timetable for the referendums to be held over the next two years will allow all involved in campaigning on the issues to plan ahead and to facilitate that public debate.”
The Republic of Ireland announces a referendum on abortion will be held between May and June 2018.