Abortion in Ireland: committee votes for constitutional change
Citizens’ Assembly votes 87% in favour of advising government to change eighth amendment on right to life
Nadia Khomami and agency
Saturday 22 April 2017
A committee set up to deliberate on Ireland’s strict abortion regime has voted for the constitutional rules to be changed.
The Citizens’ Assembly, a randomly selected group of 99 members of the public chaired by the supreme court judge Mary Laffoy, met on Saturday to discuss the contentious issue for the final time.
At the heart of the assembly’s work is examining the eighth amendment to the republic’s constitution, which gives equal right to life to the mother and the foetus. In the first of a series of votes by members on whether to advise constitutional reform, the assembly voted 87% in favour of change.
Continued at link: The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/apr/22/abortion-in-ireland-committee-votes-for-constitutional-change