Ireland to hold abortion referendum weeks before pope's visit
Voters will go to the polls in May or June 2018 to decide whether to repeal near-total constitutional ban on abortion
Henry McDonald Ireland correspondent
Tuesday 26 September 2017
Ireland will hold a referendum next year on whether to repeal its ban on abortion in almost all circumstances, a few weeks before Pope Francis is expected to visit.
Leo Varadkar, the taoiseach, told the Irish parliament on Tuesday that a national vote on whether to abolish the eighth amendment to the constitution, which gives a foetus the status of a citizen even in early pregnancy, would take place in summer 2018.
Continued at source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/26/ireland-abortion-referendum-pope-visit