The Irish Referendum on abortion will take place on 25 May 2018.
Since 1983 an estimated 170,000 Irish women have travelled to the UK to terminate their pregnancies, incurring high costs, logistical difficulties and emotional strain. Another 2,000 women a year end pregnancies by taking the abortion pill, illegally obtained online. Whatever the result of the referendum, the impact on Ireland’s society will be huge.
Professor Fiona De Londras is Professor of Global Legal Studies at the University of Birmingham.
Máiréad Enright is a Senior Lecturer in Birmingham Law School at the University of Birmingham.