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Protesters Worldwide Try Pressuring Ireland To Change Abortion Laws

REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne

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JP Carroll National Security & Foreign Affairs Reporter
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Protesters filled the streets of Dublin, Ireland, Saturday and other major cities worldwide to protest against Ireland’s restrictions on abortion.

Irish law only allows for women to receive abortions when the life of the mother is at risk, which is why pro-abortion protesters are demanding a referendum to repeal restrictions on the books against the procedure. The Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution clearly forbids abortion, and has prompted activists to take to Twitter using the hashtag #repealthe8th.

“The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right,” is the exact wording of the Irish Constitution’s Eighth Amendment.

Berlin, London, and Melbourne all held protests in solidarity with Irish pro-abortion activists Saturday. A referendum on abortion laws could come as early as the end of 2017, according to Ireland’s Minister for Children Katherine Zappone, who spoke with Reuters while attending the Dublin protests.

Eighty-four percent of Ireland’s population identifies as Roman Catholic. According to Catholic doctrine, if a Church member engages in abortion, they are excommunicated.

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