Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland
Referendum: 25 May 2018 (2018-05-25)
In force: 18 September 2018 (2018-09-18)
To permit the Oireachtas to legislate for the regulation of termination of pregnancy
Results
Choice
 Votes %
Yes 1,429,981 66.40%
No 723,632 33.60%
Valid votes 2,153,613 99.72%
Invalid or blank votes 6,042 0.28%
Total votes 2,159,655 100.00%
Registered voters/turnout 3,367,556 64.13%
Source: refcom.ie

The Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland (previously bill no. 29 of 2018) is an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland which permits the Oireachtas to legislate for abortion. The constitution had previously prohibited abortion, unless there was a serious risk to the life of the mother.

The proposal is often described as the Repeal of the Eighth Amendment, referring to the 1983 constitutional amendment which guaranteed the right to life of foetuses, making abortion illegal unless the pregnancy is life-threatening. The 2018 amendment replaces Article 40.3.3° of the Constitution, which was added in 1983 and amended in 1992.

The bill was introduced to the Oireachtas on 9 March 2018 by the Fine Gael minority coalition government, and completed its passage through both houses on 27 March 2018. It was put to a referendum on 25 May 2018,[1][2] and was approved by 66.4% of voters. The amendment took effect once signed into law by President Michael D. Higgins on 18 September 2018.[3]

  1. ^ Clarke, Vivienne (9 March 2018). "Government can meet timeline to hold abortion referendum – Donohoe". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 22 November 2018. Retrieved 9 March 2018.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference thejournal3928550 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Fitzgerald, Martina (18 September 2018). "Eighth Amendment repealed after bill is signed into law". RTÉ News. Archived from the original on 18 September 2018. Retrieved 18 September 2018.