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The Repeal Referendum

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The Repeal Referendum Irish women have abortions every day. The referendum to repeal the 8th amendment will not change that. But it is an opportunity for us to decide to treat women better in Ireland. A Yes vote will ensure that women get the proper healthcare they need at a vulnerable time in their lives. A No vote will continue to force women to travel abroad or use medication ordered online. When is the referendum? The referendum will be held on 25th May. Polls will be open from 7am until 10pm. Irish citizens aged at least 18 years of age on 15 February of this year can vote in the referendum, once added to the Register of Electors. Why do we need to have a referendum? What is the problem with the 8th amendment? “Serious difficulties are implicit in the ambiguous and complex wording of this amendment”. Mary Robinson, speaking to RTE in 1983 immediately after the passing of the 8th amendment. The wording of the 8th amendment has proven to be so unclear that time and time again, complex medical situations have ended up in our courtrooms. Successive cases – such as those of Miss X, Miss D and Miss P – have shown how much grief and trauma the 8th amendment has caused to women and families. In the X case, a 14 year old child who had become pregnant as a result of rape was prevented by the High Court for travelling abroad for a termination. She was eventually allowed to do so by the Supreme Court. Miss D was a child in the care of the HSE, whose baby had anencephaly and would not live for long outside the womb. She was forced to bring the HSE to court to be allowed to travel to the United Kingdom for a termination. Miss P was a young woman in her 20s who had passed away as a result of a brain injury. As she was 14 weeks pregnant, her family were forced to go to the High Court on Christmas Eve to be allowed to turn off her life support machine. These cases have shown that the Constitution is no place for a healthcare issue like abortion. The current wording has a direct impact on the level of healthcare provided to Irish women in a wide range of difficult circumstances. This is a matter for women and their doctors, not judges. What is the current law on abortion in Ireland? Abortion is illegal in all circumstances, except where the woman’s life is at risk. How do Ireland’s current abortion laws compare to other countries? Ireland’s laws on abortion are some of the most restrictive in the world, and have been found to be in breach of women’s rights by the United Nations and the European Court of Human Rights. If the referendum is passed, the Oireachtas can then propose legislation that would better provide for the health of Irish women and the difficult situations faced by many families – providing for terminations in the first trimester of pregnancy, and thereafter only in cases of a risk to the health or life of the mother, and in cases of fatal foetal anomaly. What is the question? On 25th May, we will be asked to remove the 8th Amendment from the Constitution and replace it with this: “Provision may be made by law for the regulation of termination of pregnancies.” Why is this referendum happening now? In the 35 years since the 8th amendment was introduced, several high-profile tragedies have occurred and numerous difficult cases have gone through the courts, while many thousands of women and their families have been forced to travel overseas or have self medicated at home. Following sustained demand for change, including from the Labour Party, the Government established a Citizens’ Assembly to discuss and make recommendations on the 8th Amendment. They published a series of recommendations in April of 2017, which can be read in full here. The Assembly’s recommendations were then considered by a Joint Oireachtas Committee comprising members of the Seanad and Dáil, who heard testimonies from various groups and released a report in December 2017. The report can be found here. On foot of the Committee’s report, the Government agreed to propose a referendum. Who can vote? Anyone who is an Irish citizen over the age of 18 on February 15th of this year can vote in this referendum. People who have not yet registered to vote still can make sure that they are on the supplemental register by submitting the RFA2 form 15 days before polling day (except Sundays and public holidays) - the form is available at www.checktheregister.ie What procedures and safeguards apply in the proposed legislation? Abortion up to 12 weeks will only be available if certified by an appropriately trained medical professional. A period of 72 hours must elapse between certification and the termination being carried out. The medical practitioner must also be satisfied that the pregnancy has not in fact exceeded 12 weeks. Beyond that period of pregnancy, termination will only be available in exceptional circumstances, such as the risk of serious harm to the health or life of the woman, in emergency situations, or in cases of fatal foetal anomaly. In all other circumstances, abortion will remain unlawful after 12 weeks. Even in cases where there is a risk to the life of a woman, or of serious harm to her health, a termination would not be lawful beyond viability. The viability of a foetus would be assessed and agreed by two doctors, one of whom would be an obstetrician or gynaecologist. If viability is established and the pregnancy is ended on health grounds then it will be done through early delivery, with a full medical team on hand. What is the abortion pill? Is it safe? The abortion pill is two medications, Mifepristone and Misoprostol. These medications have been on the World Health Organisation’s list of essential medicines since 2005. Medical abortion using these two medications is considered extremely safe for a woman to use. As with any medical treatment, a small number of women who access medical abortion will need further treatment from a doctor but these complications are just as common when a woman experiences a natural miscarriage. Why 12 weeks? This time frame is based on the best available medical evidence and is consistent with laws across Europe. Throughout the European Union, 99% of women have access to termination of pregnancy in this way in the first trimester of pregnancy. In countries where abortion is legal in the first trimester, 90% or more of abortions are carried out at that stage. The legislation will not refer specifically to rape or incest. In view of the complexities inherent in legislating for the termination of pregnancy for reasons of rape or other sexual assault, the Committee was of the opinion that it would be more appropriate to deal with this issue by permitting termination of pregnancy up to a gestational limit of 12 weeks. What effect would this legislation have had in the Savita Case? As long as the 8th amendment remains in the Constitution, abortion can only be legal in cases where there is a threat to the life of the pregnant woman. In practice, doctors say this means they have to delay terminating a pregnancy until the woman’s condition becomes very serious. Under the proposed legislation, Savita Halappanavar would have been legally allowed to access a termination of pregnancy before she developed the serious infection which cost her her life. Dr. Peter Boylan, the former Master of the National Maternity Hospital, has said that if Ms. Halappanavar had received a termination when it was first requested, she would never have developed the infection. How will this legislation affect the area of disability? The Oireachtas Committee also specifically recommended that terminations should not be made available in the case of disability and that where the legislation requires a woman to state a reason for termination, this reason will not be acceptable. The proposed legislation permits termination of pregnancy in the first trimester of pregnancy (12 weeks). Basic prenatal screening is offered in most maternity hospitals at 13 weeks, and later in some rural hospitals. Nuchal translucency tests and amniocentesis are currently provided at 14 to 15 weeks. Foetal anomaly scans take place after 19 weeks. A non-invasive (Harmony) test can be performed at 10 weeks, if a woman knows to ask for it, but is currently only available privately. Results may take weeks to process, and should be confirmed with a later amniocentesis. It is therefore highly unlikely that women will seek to terminate pregnancies for reasons of disability within the first 12 weeks. Further, the Oireachtas Joint Committee heard evidence from Dr Eva Pajkert, Professor of Obstetrics at the University of Amsterdam, that although access to prenatal testing and abortion has increased in recent years, the number of babies born with these kinds of disabilities has remained stable for many years. This suggests that parents are not choosing to terminate pregnancies for this reason. It should also be noted that women with disability are among the most vulnerable groups when it comes to sexual assault and rape, and that the detrimental effects of the 8th amendment for women’s health during pregnancy apply equally to women with disabilities. Pregnancy (planned or unplanned) can often affect the health of disabled women and so the availability of abortion up to 12 weeks (and after if their health is at serious risk) on home soil with the advice and care of doctors that know the individual is crucially important.
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