Ireland appears to have voted overwhelmingly to repeal the eighth amendment, allowing for more liberalized abortion laws.
The referendum was held on Friday, May 25, but the count began the next morning. Two exit polls out after the polls closed show that the Yes side has won.
Referendum posters, both in favour of repealing the Eighth Amendment to the Irish constitution, and maintaining the amendment, hang on lamp posts in the greater Dublin area leading up to the May 25 vote
RTE’s exit poll had the Yes side at 69.4 per cent, and the No side at 30.6 per cent. The Irish Times’ exit poll has the Yes side at 68 per cent, with the No side at 32 per cent.
Turnout was reportedly higher even than the same-sex marriage referendum in 2015.
The votes are still being counted on Saturday as of 10:30 a.m. eastern time, but, with 22 constituencies out of 40, the Yes side is ahead 752,977 votes to 387,125 No votes, 66 per cent to 34 per cent respectively, with 63.9 per cent turnout.
County Roscommon, which voted No to gay marriage in 2015, appears to have now voted Yes in this referendum. County Donegal however may narrowly vote No, with RTE News reporting that it may be 49 per cent Yes, 51 per cent No.
In 1983, Irish voters approved the eighth amendment, which recognized the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn. Now that voters have vote to remove that section of the constitution, the Varadkar government has said that it will enact abortion legislation by the end of the year. The government’s legislation will likely include allowing for abortion up to 12 weeks. Using a phrase that would be familiar to Canadians, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said that a “quiet revolution” had taken place in Ireland over the last few decades. The No side has called the result “heartbreaking” and has conceded defeat.
By Desmond Devoy
