An abortion is the deliberate medical termination of a pregnancy. In both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, abortion is highly restricted although the law differs in each country.
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Republic of Ireland:
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Abortion was already illegal in Ireland under the Offences against the Person Act of 1861. In 1983, pro-life activists who feared that this could be changed set about securing protection for the unborn in the constitution, by lobbying the government for a referendum.
A vote was then held on 7 September 1983 which proposed adding an eighth amendment to the constitution of Ireland. It read as follows:
“The state acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.”
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The referendum was passed.
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This effectively gave equal rights to the mother and the unborn, all but banning abortion.
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On 25 May 2018, Ireland had a historic opportunity to change the country’s abortion law. Voters were asked if they wanted to repeal the eighth amendment, and allow the government to legislate on terminations. The referendum to repeal the eighth was passed by a resounding majority.This ended The Republic of Ireland's 35-year struggle for safe, legal abortion but for Northern Ireland the struggle remains.
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Northern Ireland:
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Abortion is defined as unlawful in Northern Ireland. Abortion is not permitted in Northern Ireland in cases of rape, incest or foetal abnormalities.
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Abortion is legal only under the following criteria:
1) To preserve the life of the woman
2) The adverse effect on the woman’s mental or physical health must be a “real and serious” and must also be “permanent or long-term”.
This includes the risk of suicide
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Remember that in both countries, you have the right to:
• Travel to another country to access safe and legal abortion care.
• Request information on abortion services abroad from your healthcare provider or crisis pregnancy counselor.
• Access pregnancy counselling, post-abortion counselling and free post-abortion medical check-ups in Ireland.
• Be treated with dignity and respect at all times.