1
Submission to Citizens’ Assembly on the Eighth Amendment
of the Constitution
Part 1 – Why the Social Democrats favour Repeal of the 8th Amendment
The Social Democrats welcome the opportunity to make a submission to the Citizens’
Assembly on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution.
Repealing the 8th Amendment
Since our formation in July 2015, the Social Democrats have campaigned for the repeal of
the 8th Amendment. Indeed, many of our members and public representatives have been
campaigning against this Amendment since it was proposed in 1983. We do not believe the
Constitution is an appropriate place to deal with the complex issue of abortion and we are
arguing that the Amendment should be deleted from the Constitution and not replaced with
any alternative wording.
In our Manifesto for the 2016 General Election, the Social Democrats set out the following
position.
“We will campaign in support of removing the 8th Amendment from the Constitution.
The 8th Amendment (Article 40.3.3) was inserted into the Irish Constitution in 1983. Its
immediate effect was to make it impossible for any meaningful or responsive legislation to
address the issue without a referendum taking place. As a result of this amendment, later
codified in the 2013 Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act, a woman is not allowed to avail
of an abortion unless her life is deemed to be in immediate risk.
There is a pressing need to introduce a modern legislative regime. We support the urgent
holding of a referendum to repeal the 8th Amendment in as short a timeframe as possible,
but at the latest within 18 months of the general election. Within that period, we support the
holding of a people’s convention, the publishing of draft legislation (based on the
recommendations of this convention) that would come into effect if the 8th Amendment was
abolished, and the holding of a referendum on the removal of the 8th Amendment from the
Constitution.”
2
The Social Democrats are advocating for a repeal of the 8th Amendment on 5 key grounds:
1. Constitution too inflexible
We believe that inserting the eighth amendment into the Constitution in 1983 was a
wholly inappropriate means of dealing with the sensitive and complex issue of abortion.
It is impossible to have a flexible and responsive legal framework that deals with issues
as they arise if the only means by which the law can be changed is through a
referendum.
It is shameful that so many highly vulnerable pregnant women have been subjected to
the distress and trauma of seeking legal clarity through our Courts because the law of
the land is too rigid and not sufficiently clear or expansive.
2. Chilling Effect of 8th Amendment
In cases that have come before our Courts or into the public domain since 1983 we have
seen the undoubted chilling effect of the 8th Amendment on clinicians and support staff.
This prevents doctors providing appropriate medical intervention to women in cases
where the procedure places the foetus at risk because the law explicitly prevents them
from doing so or because they fear prosecution because of lack of legal clarity. This has
placed the lives of women in grave danger with tragic consequences for women and
their families.
Neither clinicians nor expectant women should fear prosecution arising from
interventions to prevent serious damage to the health, well-being and life of the
woman. The only way to remove this threat is to remove the 8th Amendment from the
Constitution and provide clear legislation that allows clinicians act in good faith when
acting in the interests of pregnant women.
3. Promote Maternal Health and Well-Being
Maternal health and well-being should be at the corner-stone of prenatal care in our
country. The effect of the 8th Amendment is that they are not. It is clear that in many
cases the interests of the woman have often taken second place to those of the unborn.
This is unacceptable. Repealing the 8th Amendment would allow for a far safer prenatal
regime to be developed.
3
4. Laws should reflect Public Opinion
Public Opinion has changed. Several opinion polls suggest that there is now strong public
support for changing our laws on abortion to at least accommodate cases of rape, incest
and fatal foetal abnormality.
However, the 8th Amendment places a constitutional constraint on the Dáil to pass
legislation to deal sympathetically with such cases. This is absolutely cruel on the
families concerned and the 8th Amendment should be repealed to at least allow
legislators deal with these issues.
5. Democratic deficit on 8th Amendment
No person under the age of 51 has ever had a chance to vote on whether or not this
provision should be retained in the Constitution of their country. This is fundamentally
undemocratic and it is long past the time that the public were given the choice to decide
to retain or reject this Amendment.
Next Steps
The Social Democrats believe that the case for repealing the 8th Amendment is undeniable
and it is imperative that a referendum on this issue is put to the people in 2017 and that it is
passed.
As part of this, it is critical that the public is clearly informed of what legislation, if any, will
be in place should the 8th Amendment be repealed. We believe this should be the core
function of the work currently underway by the Citizens’ Assembly.
Obviously, the 8th Amendment may only be repealed by a vote of the people. That is why it
is vital that all of the issues are teased out, that the public is certain as to what it is voting
on, and that the post-referendum laws are acceptable to a clear majority of the public.
We believe teasing out these issues, and arriving at a proposal for a post-referendum
legislative framework that is acceptable to and generally reflective of Irish public opinion,
should be the central focus of the work of the Citizens’ Assembly.
4
Part 2 - Feedback from Social Democrats Workshop on the 8th Amendment
As part of the work of the Citizens’ Assembly, it may be useful to report some feedback the
Social Democrats received from its own Members at a recent workshop where we held a
very open and respectful discussion on this issue. Within the context of the repeal of the 8th
Amendment, there is a broad spectrum of views on what legislation should replace it. We
will be extending this process to wider Membership as we are cognisant that many
Members have yet to input into this and we are anxious to garner as many views as
possible.
At our recent workshop, there was unanimous agreement of those who contributed to the
discussion that the 8th Amendment should be removed from our Constitution and that no
wording should replace it. There were more varied opinions on what form new legislation
should take or even if there should be new legislation.
Many female members expressed grave concern for their own safety under our current
laws. Many cited the chilling effect of the 8th Amendment as a particular worry. They felt
that their own life and well-being was very much a secondary concern of pre-natal care in
Ireland. Some cited examples where their own care was jeopardised or where vital medical
intervention was delayed because of concern for the unborn child. There were several calls
for maternal health to be the cornerstone of our laws in this area and that this wasn’t
possible without repealing the 8th Amendment.
Some members expressed concern about how abortion in the case of rape and incest could
be legislated for without placing the victim in a highly vulnerable position. The view was
expressed by a number of participants that forcing a woman to reveal her rape in order to
avail of a termination was cruel and in many cases would simply not work in practice. Some
felt it would be better to allow a period of time where women could avail of terminations
without having to declare their circumstances.
Members cited different legislative models in other countries which they felt might replace
the current legislative and constitutional framework in Ireland, including models in Canada,
Spain, Denmark and the UK.
Many members expressed a deep dissatisfaction that they had never been given an
opportunity to vote on whether or not they wanted the 8th Amendment to remain in their
Constitution.
Some cited examples of tragic cases of fatal foetal abnormality in their own families where
mothers were forced to travel to the UK for terminations with no supports on their return.
Once again, the 8th Amendment was cited as the reason services cannot be provided to such
families in their own country who experience these tragic circumstances.
Several contributors called for better sex education in schools, including about abortion.
Several others called for a completely secular approach to the issue.
5