Flash: Abortion amendment rejected in Irish referendum
Date: 7th Mar '02
Name: Article from RM Irish news round-up
Flash: Abortion amendment rejected in Irish referendum
The Irish Prime Minister, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern this afternoon
conceded defeat in an extremely tight result in Wednesday's
referendum on the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, which
ranged over a number of abortion issues.
The final result was 50.4% 'No' against 49.6% 'Yes', with a
margin of just over 10,000 votes in the difference.
After several hours of counting in the other constituencies,
Ahern conceded after tallies in the last constituency, Galway
West, indicated there were insufficient 'Yes' votes to overcome
the deficit. The final result had appeared in doubt since the
start, and the race had see-sawed throughout the afternoon.
The referendum has highlighted a clear divide between urban and
rural areas. Dun Laoghaire and Dublin South-East provided the
strongest opposition at 68%, while Donegal's two constituencies
recorded a 70% vote in favour.
The amendment's central objective was to roll back a Supreme
Court decision in the 'X' case, which permits suicidal women to
have an abortion.
The Catholic church and the government supported the amendment,
which was opposed by women's groups and the opposition parties.
Considerable voter confusion and scepticism led to an extremely
low turnout of around 40%. Campaigners said the weather, the
choice of polling day and a change in polling hours could have
also influenced the final result, and a recount has not been
ruled out.
The controversy over abortion in Ireland is certainly set to
continue. But speaking outside Government Buildings in Dublin,
Mr Ahern said while he was disappointed by the result he accepted
the people had spoken.
"I am disappointed but I am a democrat. I made a promise that I
would bring it to the people and I think the proposal was an
honest reflection" of a consultative process, he added.
But he said: "The result of the election has not changed my
personal view".
Sinn Fin President Gerry Adams MP has described the defeat of
the amendment proposal as "a victory for compassion and common
sense" and he said that the government should now move to bring
forward legislation in line with the X case.
"Sinn Fin called for a 'No' vote because we believed that this
referendum was flawed and the proposals did not adequately
address or resolve the complex issues involved," Mr Adams said.
"And whatever the outcome, some 6,000 women every year will still
leave Ireland to have their pregnancies terminated.
"Following this result the government should now move to bring
forward legislation in line with the X case. They should also
re-examine the remit and resources to be provided for the Crisis
Pregnancy Agency and ensure that we have a real strategy to
assist women with crisis pregnancies.
The government also have questions to answer with regard to the
conduct of this referendum the fact that it was rushed through
and that inadequate information was provided. The result is
that many people felt unable to cast their vote because they were
unsure what way to vote. It is also unacceptable that the
referendum was held mid-week leaving many young people unable to
vote in what was an important referendum.
"This week common sense prevailed at the polls and the government
should now act on the wishes of the people."
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