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73% Favour Referendum On The 8th Amendment

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The Irish branch of Amnesty International has published the details of a poll it commissioned from Red:C Research & Marketing which seems to show majority support for a more comprehensive introduction of the medical procedure of abortion to Ireland. The survey interviewed 1,004 adults by phone between the 1st and 3rd of February 2016 with another 1,002 surveyed in the same manner between the 18th and 22nd of February. The main findings from the Amnesty PR summary, which some of you have no doubt seen summarised in the press today, are outlined below:

“Irish people believe that reforming Ireland’s abortion law, which is one of the most restrictive in the world, should be one of the priority issues for the next government.

•     55% agree that expanding access to abortion should be one of the priority issues for the next government, with only 25% disagreeing. When the ‘don’t knows’ and those who are neutral are excluded, this figure rises to 69%. This view is spread relatively evenly across the regions with 61% support in Dublin, 51% in the rest of Leinster, 55% in Connaught/Ulster and 54% in Munster.

•      About two-thirds of people agree that Irish politicians should show leadership and deal proactively with the issue of widening access to abortion.

•     73% of people think the government should hold a referendum to allow the people to vote on whether or not to remove the 8th amendment. Interestingly, this view is widely shared across all regions from 65% in Connaught/Ulster to 75% in Dublin.

•     87% of respondents are in favour of expanding access to abortion in Ireland, at least in the minimum circumstances required under international human rights law. This breaks down as follows:

–      42% are in favour of allowing abortion in Ireland only where the woman’s life is at risk, where there is diagnosis of a fatal foetal abnormality, where the pregnancy is a result of rape or incest, or where the woman’s health is at risk. A further 38% are in favour of allowing women to access abortion as they choose.

–      7% are in favour of allowing abortion in Ireland only where the woman’s life is at risk or where there is a fatal foetal abnormality.

–      7% are in favour of the current legal position, where abortion is allowed only when the woman’s life is at risk.

–      Only 5% of people are opposed to abortion in all circumstances.

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