The first to declare was Galway East, a traditionally conservative constituency in the west that nonetheless returned a large majority for repealing the abortion ban by a?60.2 percent to 39.8 percent vote.
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An Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI poll late Friday suggested a “stunning victory” of 68 percent to 32 percent.
“A quiet revolution has taken place, a great act of democracy”, Varadkar tweeted.
Amnesty International hailed the result as a “momentous win for women’s rights” that “marks the beginning of a new Ireland”.
The prime minister, Leo Varadkar, said he planned to have the new law enacted by the end of the year. The “Yes” campaign was backed by Ireland’s Indian origin Prime Minister Leo Varadkar.
It indicated that about 72 percent of women voted “yes” along with about 66 percent of men.
People over 65, however, voted 60 percent against overhauling the current legislation, which only allows terminations in cases where the mother’s life is in danger.
Unsurprisingly, young people were overwhelmingly in favour of repealing the amendment, with 87 percent of voters aged 18-24 casting their ballot for reform.
There were cheers when the vote tally was announced at Dublin Castle. “Why, only three days from the vote, are people only suddenly raising that?”
Abortion rights groups in Ireland are claiming victory as official results show voters have repealed a constitutional ban on abortions.
Friday’s referendum follows months of bitter debate between “Yes” and “No” campaigners on whether or not the country’s Eighth Amendment – which acknowledges the embryo’s right to life “with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother” – should be scrapped. “We’re not a backward country any more, the way the church would have had us thinking”. Some 170,000 Irish women are believed to have traveled to the UK for abortions between 1980 and 2016, according to data from the UK Department of Health compiled by Ireland’s Solidarity Party.
Pro-repeal campaigners say nearly 170,000 have done so.
Ireland has voted emphatically to repeal the Eighth Amendment and change its abortion laws.
The law was tweaked in 2013 to allow terminations if the mother’s life is at risk.
Despite it being illegal, abortion is still a reality for many women in Ireland who either choose to fly out of the country to terminate their pregnancy or seek a risky alternative like the abortion pill. After that, the woman can have abortion if she still intends to terminate her pregnancy. Varadkar’s deputy, Simon Coveney, said the exit polls showed the result “was not a Dublin versus the rest” situation.
Some pro-life groups, such as the Iona Institute, fought against the repeal on the basis that abortion is incompatible with the Catholic faith, while others were unhappy with the limitations proposed.
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The campaign additionally noted that they would continue fighting for the right to life in Ireland, saying that “every time an unborn child has his or her life ended in Ireland, we will oppose that, and make our voices known”.
