WorldIrish voters headed to the polls on Friday to vote in a landmark referendum on whether the traditionally Catholic country should liberalise some of the strictest abortion laws in Europe. The campaign has dominated public debate in Ireland over recent months and has forced its nearly 3.5 million voters to decide if the constitutional ban on abortion should stay or go. The referendum comes three years after Ireland voted to legalise same-sex marriage, in a seismic change for the EU nation. Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, who backs the reform, was due to cast his ballot at 10:30 am in Dublin. The eighth amendment to the Irish constitution was installed following a 1983 referendum which approved outlawing abortion.

Source: Sunday Times May 25, 2018 08:15 UTC