Readers Blog: Reproductive coercion has no place in Constitution

Those who advocate for the retention of the Eighth Amendment assert that it has deterred women from accessing abortion ‘Irish law keeps rate of abortion low’ (Irish Examiner, Letters, July 14).

They ignore the analysis of the World Health Organisation (WHO), and reproductive health research leader, the Guttmacher Institute. The WHO safe abortion guidelines states that restricting legal access to abortion does not decrease the need for abortion.

A 2016 Guttmacher report on global incidence of abortion found no significant difference between the rate where abortion is prohibited compared with countries where abortion is available on request.