Student Leadership Helped to Legalize Abortion in Ireland

June 27, 2018
by Addie Duckett

On May 25, in a huge win for women, people across Ireland voted overwhelmingly to support the repeal of the eighth amendment to Ireland’s constitution. The referendum passed with 66.4% voting ‘yes’ in a rebuke of the draconian abortion laws that have governed the country for decades. This vote follows the 2015 passage of the Marriage Equality act, marking a trend of successful liberalization efforts largely indebted to the dedication of youth and student leadership throughout the country.

The eighth amendment, originally passed in 1983, established the equal right to life of pregnant women and their unborn fetuses, outlawing abortion in nearly all cases. Until 1992, it also remained illegal to travel abroad to seek an abortion, though many women still did so.

Continued: http://feministcampus.org/student-leadership-helped-to-legalize-abortion-in-ireland/