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ABORTION LEGISLATION HAS been passed by the Seanad.
The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018 was passed by 27 votes to five.
The Bill will now be signed into law by President Michael D Higgins, having passed through the Dáil last week (by 90 votes to 15).
Ireland voted by 66.4% to 33.6% to remove the Eighth Amendment, which effectively banned abortion here, in May.
Sixty-three amendments were tabled by senators, all of which were rejected by Health Minister Simon Harris.
Many of the proposed amendments were similar to those previously tabled in the Dáil.
Senator Catherine Noone, who chaired the Oireachtas Eighth Amendment Committee, said she was “very proud to have been involved in such monumental change”.
She added that Irish laws are “now more caring to women”.
‘Historic’
Speaking this evening, Minister Harris said: “This is a genuinely historic moment.
The legislation permits terminations to be carried out up to 12 weeks of pregnancy; or where there is a risk to the life, or of serious harm to the health, of the pregnant woman; or where there is a risk to the life, or of serious harm to the health, of the pregnant woman in an emergency; or where there is a condition present which is likely to lead to the death of the foetus either before or within 28 days of birth.
Harris thanked his Oireachtas colleagues for “their cooperation, their thoughtful contributions and for the long hours everyone has put in to see it through”.
He also thanked the campaigners “who fought for 35 years to change a nation, to change hearts and minds”.
“I want to thank the minority who fought the battle in here when it was convenient for the majority to ignore.
“But today, I think mostly of the thousands of women who were forced to make the journey to access care that should have been available in their own country.”
170,000 women
More than 170,000 women and girls have travelled from Ireland to another country for an abortion since 1980, with the vast majority going to Britain.
Over 3,000 women travelled to the England and Wales for abortions last year, while many others bought abortion pills online.
Abortion services are expected to being next month. However, some doctors and hospitals have said they are unlikely to be ready to provide terminations in January.
With reporting by Christina Finn
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I wish her all the best with her venture
fair play if you can get someone to pay way over the odds for a wolly jumper because of these ‘awards’ then best of luck to you
Very stylish.
Elegant women have so much more class.
What’s this, Mayo winning something
Jeez what depressing people. Fair play to anyone who tries to get something moving in this country. It’s so hard when you are routinely met with comments like the above!
@Nick Caffrey: or ripped off, they don’t know how to add value but talk bollox in this isle. was always the problem here, over price themselves, nobody interested. market too small but at that, they forget we’re not that materialistic anymore. sad i know, but priorities come first.
Agricultural fashion..any hope of the fertiliser bag tied at the waist with baling twine making a comeback?
agriculture those arent farming clothes these designers are egits
Great to see Mayo winning something at last .
more attention seekers no wants to buy ur 1000 euro clothes that rot away if anything spills on them
@gamescentrel: yep, they believe in kennys recovery. they might need to come down to earth and reconsider how things really are, especially in rural world.
It’s great to see someone so passionate about preserving a traditional craft and it’s not an easy task. Well done on the beautiful work and the best of luck for the future.
GREAT WORK. KEEP GOING.
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