Abortion campaigning enters final 24 hours

A moratorium on campaigning in the abortion referendum comes into effect at 9am today, 24 hours before the polls open.

The electorate is being asked to approve or reject an amendment to the constitution which outlaws suicide as a grounds for abortion.

The referendum also, for the first time in the history of the State, proposes to insert a bill into the constitution, meaning the criminal legislation governing abortion could only be changed in the future through another referendum.

Fianna Fáil, the Catholic Church and the Pro-Life movement, as well as individual doctors and psychiatrists, are all campaigning for a ‘Yes’ vote.

The Labour Party, Fine Gael, the Green Party and the Mother and Child Campaign are urging a ‘no’ vote and they have also been supported by individual doctors and psychiatrists.