Image copyright RTÉ Image caption The country's abortion laws are some of the strictest in Europe

Tens of thousands of people have marched through Dublin to demand change to the Republic of Ireland's abortion laws. Campaigners took part in the March for Choice in the capital's city centre on Saturday, chanting: "Hey, hey Leo (Prime Minister Leo Varadkar), the eighth amendment has got to go" and carrying banners which read: "Keep your rosaries off my ovaries" and "Parent by choice for choice", reports the Guardian. The law was changed three decades later to allow terminations when the mother's life is at risk, following public outrage at the death of a pregnant woman in 2012 who was refused an abortion. Though abortion laws have always been strict in Ireland (in large part due to the historical influence of the Catholic Church over the country), the eighth amendment brought things to a new level by affording equal rights to the unborn and pregnant women in 1983. This year's march, the sixth in a series of annual events, was more significant than ever given the latest confirmation that there will be a referendum on abortion next year. Terminations are currently only permitted when the life of the mother is at risk and the maximum penalty for accessing an illegal abortion in Ireland is 14 years in prison. Anti-abortion activists staged counter-events in Dublin and across Ireland calling for the eighth amendment to be preserved, indicating protests from both sides are likely to intensify in the lead-up to the referendum. The campaigners also attempted to make more than 205,700 white chalk marks on the pavement to represent the number of women who have travelled to mainland Britain from both the Irish Republic and Northern Ireland since 1983 to access a safe abortion.
Tens of thousands of protesters march through Dublin to demand Ireland to change its abortion laws, and anti-abortion activists stage counter-demonstrations. A pro-choice rally is held outside the Irish embassy in London.