Clear call to liberalise laws on abortion

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is facing fresh pressure to endorse the wide-scale liberalisation of Ireland’s abortion laws after politicians made clear-cut calls to repeal the Eighth Amendment, allow abortion up to 12 weeks pregnancy and to decriminalise the act.

The formal recommendations were made by the cross-party Oireachtas Eighth Amendment committee, paving the way for next year’s historic referendum to mirror the group’s findings unless the Dáil, Seanad or Cabinet deliberately intervenes to water down the plans.

In a series of decisions considered highly unlikely when it was set up last summer, the 21-person committee yesterday voted in favour of radically changing Ireland’s abortion laws for the first time since 1983 and removing the issue entirely from the Constitution.