Ireland Ireland's opposition leader wants to liberalise abortion law Micheál Martin stuns sections of Fianna Fáil party by changing his mind over the contentious issue Micheál Martin will back the repeal of the Irish constitution’s eighth amendment, which prohibits abortion, in a nationwide referendum in May. Micheál Martin has stunned conservative sections of his Fianna Fáil party by backing the repeal of the eighth amendment to the Irish Republic’s constitution, which prohibits abortion, in a nationwide referendum in May. The first was hearing evidence before Christmas from women who suffered from fatal foetal abnormalities while pregnant,” he said. A number of Fianna Fáil TDs such as Declan Breathnach, who represents Louth in the Dáil, have confirmed that unlike their leader they will vote for maintaining the eighth amendment. “What became apparent from listening to these experts was that the eighth amendment cast a cloud over the clinical, professional teams that have to make difficult decisions about crisis pregnancies,” he said.

Source: The Guardian February 11, 2018 11:00 UTC