Removing the 8th creates ‘constitutional space’ to make better laws for women’s care
Lawyers wing of Yes campaign formally launches in Dublin tonight
The referendum on the 8th amendment gives Ireland the opportunity to create the constitutional space which will allow the Oireachtas to pass the laws which are necessary to make the best medical care available for all women.
That’s according to Lawyers Together For Yes who launched their campaign to remove the 8th amendment from the Constitution in Dublin City Centre tonight.
Speaking on behalf of Lawyers Together For Yes, barrister Peter Ward SC said: “During the referendum campaign in 1983 many lawyers predicted that the Eighth Amendment represented a potentially very dangerous provision which could have serious adverse consequences for the health of women in this country. We have seen those predictions come to pass.
“The Eighth Amendment has proven itself to be a blunt and a dangerous legal provision. Its brevity belies the breadth and depth of its negative consequences for pregnant women in this country. It is a provision that ought never to have found its way into our Constitution in 1983. Now in 2018 we have a unique and vital opportunity to remove it from the fundamental law of the State.
“This referendum gives us the opportunity to create the constitutional space which will allow the Oireachtas to pass the laws which are necessary to make the best medical care available for all women – without fear of abandonment.”
Ailbhe Smyth, Co-Director of Together for Yes said,
“We welcome the important voice of lawyers in the referendum campaign to highlight the harmful impact of the Eighth Amendment on women. The Constitution is not the place to deal with complex healthcare decisions. Removing the 8th Amendment is the necessary step to introducing laws in line with best medical practice that will allow a woman who needs an abortion to access care in her own country with the support of her own doctor.”