By Ann Marie Foley - 29 March, 2018
Friday 25th May 2018, has been set as the referendum polling day. The referendum on the proposal for the amendment of the Constitution contained in the Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018, as the repeal of the Eighth Amendment process is now officially called, will allow the Irish people to vote to reject or approve the change to the Irish Constitution which in turn may allow the government to legislate for abortion.
Following the announcement on 28th March, Cora Sherlock of the Prolife Campaign stated: “The prolife movement has been ready and waiting for this terrible referendum for a long time. Let’s win this for mothers, babies and the men who care about them.”
Mr Eoghan Murphy, Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, made the order setting the polling day. Voting will take place between the hours of 7 am and 10 pm. Some 3.2 million people are eligible to vote.
“Whatever your views are on the proposals in the referendum, can I take this opportunity to encourage voters to go to their polling station during this 15 hour period on 25th May and have your say in the outcome of the referendum,” the Minister said.
Savethe8th campaign stated, “No matter how one looks at it, the push to repeal the Eighth Amendment is an attack on the most vulnerable of us all; children, our children. They are utterly helpless and defenceless. If the government truly cared for women and children, it would seek to make life better for both, not to enact a law which seeks the death of one.”
To vote in the referendum people must be an Irish citizen who meets the qualifying conditions, including – being 18 years or over, and resident at the address at which they are registered. To register a change of address, or to get on the register, people have until the 8th May to complete and send in a supplement application form, which is available from City, County or City and County Councils (these are the registration authorities) and on-line at www.checktheregister.ie.
Separately, the Church of Ireland’s Most Revd Dr Richard Clarke, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, and The Most Revd Dr Michael Jackson, Archbishop of Dublin and Primate of Ireland, issued a statement on the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution and proposed legislation on abortion.
They had previously expressed concern that the forthcoming referendum would be something akin to an opinion poll on the complex issue of abortion. They added in the latest statement published on 28th March that: “voters face a stark decision” given the Government’s general scheme of a Bill which would be introduced should the referendum on the repeal of Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution of Ireland be passed.
They continued, “Although it is true that the present provision under the Constitution has proved less than satisfactory in some respects, and we suggested the possibility of a modification to the present Constitutional position, what is now being proposed by the Government – if the Article is repealed – is unrestricted access to abortion up to twelve weeks of pregnancy.”
The Bishops reiterated points from their previous statement of 5th February about the need for pastoral care for women, their partners and their families, and for improved support services and greater investment in medical and mental health services.
“Unrestricted access to abortion in the first twelve weeks of pregnancy, or indeed at any stage, is not an ethical position we can accept. There is, for Christians, a very clear witness in the Scriptures that all human life, including before physical birth, has a sacred dignity in the eyes of God,” they stated.
They asked that Church of Ireland members think through the issues involved “carefully and with prayer” over the coming weeks.
