Simon Harris says remove abortion from Constitution

Health Minister Simon Harris has said that abortion, and when it should be allowed for Irish women, must be taken out of the Constitution.

The Fine Gael minister said that the right to access abortion in cases of rape, fatal foetal abnormalities, and incest will have to be addressed. His remarks, in an interview with Newstalk, come after an Oireachtas committee cleared the way last week for next year’s referendum on abortion, agreeing that the Constitution should be changed.

Mr Harris told Newstalk that he also had an “open mind” on recommendations from the Citizens Assembly that there be unrestricted access to abortion in Ireland for pregnancies up to 12 weeks.