Ireland will get a glimpse today of what the legal landscape, post-repeal of the eighth amendment, might look like, following the publication of a government policy paper on abortion legislation.
The Irish Times reports that the 21 “principles or provisions” that would underpin any proposed legislation if the eighth amendment is repealed includes the provision that “no distinction will be made between physical and mental health” and that “gestational limits will not apply in cases of a foetal condition or on grounds of risk to health”.
The 12-week recommendation, which quickly became the consensus among pro-choice politicians, is included in the principles and would provide for abortions until this time “without specific indication”.
The Dáil is in the process of considering the Referendum Bill. Speaking in the Dáil today, Minister for Health Simon Harris called the job of legislating for abortion “serious and challenging”.
Harris told the Dáil that the various complexities required to regulate abortion need more than “a few rigid lines in Bunreacht na hÉireann”.
The proposed changes, he said, are a “quantum leap” from where Ireland is now – and bring Ireland closer to the rest of the world when it comes to regulating abortion.
