Ireland abolishes abortion law, victory of "silent revolution"
Ireland's prime minister on May 26 hailed a "quiet revolution" in one of Europe's most conservative countries after a landslide referendum result to repeal decades-old abortion laws.
 |
| Supporters of legalizing abortion celebrate the referendum result on the streets of Dublin on May 26 - Photo: Reuters |
BBC cited official results showing 66.4% of votes in favor of 33.6% against the repeal of Article 8 of the Irish Constitution, which prohibits abortion, except in cases where the mother's life is in danger.
Previously, polls also showed that up to 70% of Irish voters supported the repeal of this law. Notably, the number of people opposing the abortion ban came from many localities across Ireland, not only in the capital Dublin, where strong voices of opposition were recorded, especially from young people.
"Today is a historic day for Ireland. The quiet revolution has taken place," declared Leo Varadkar, Ireland's first openly gay prime minister.
"It's unbelievable," Reuters quoted campaigner Mary Higgins of the Together For Yes campaign, which includes many women who have had to go abroad for abortions.
Previously, on May 25, Irish people went to the polls in a referendum on abolishing the abortion ban stipulated in the 1983 amended Constitution. The holding of this referendum is considered to mark a turning point in the struggle of Irish women for the right to abortion.
The debate over abortion rights has been going on for nearly a decade in Ireland. For a long time, Irish women who wanted to have an abortion had to travel to neighboring countries, mainly the UK, to do so.
The referendum also marked another milestone in Ireland's transformation from a country that only legalized divorce in 1995 to the first in the world to accept same-sex marriage.
