Ireland: Supreme Court Paves Way for Vote on Abortion

Ireland's Supreme Court has paved the way to hold an abortion referendum scheduled for the end of May. The court ruled that the unborn do not have inherent constitutional rights outside the right to life detailed in the eighth amendment of the constitution, according to Reuters.

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In January, the Irish government offered voters the opportunity to vote in a referendum to determine if abortion should be legalized at the end of May. It is the first time in 35 years that citizens would be given a chance to change some of the world's strictest laws on the matter.

Prior to setting the referendum date, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar stressed that it was of utmost importance to wait for the Supreme Court judgment in a case that the Irish government is appealing.

The initial judgment involved an immigration case where a Nigerian man attempted to revoke a 2008 deportation order in proceedings initiated eight years later on the grounds that his Irish partner was at that time pregnant with their child, according to Reuters.

The High Court ruled that the unborn was afforded rights beyond the right to life explained in the eighth amendment. Voters will now be asked if they want to repeal the constitutional detail in the proposed referendum.

In its appeal, the state argued that the only right the unborn have is the right to be born. It would require a birth for all other constitutional rights to take effect.

Ireland's cabinet is scheduled to convene today to debate the ruling.

Last September, 40,000 people rallied for changes to be made to the amendment during the 6th annual “March for Choice.” Government figures revealed that nearly 4,000 women traveled to England and Wales to terminate pregnancies in 2016.