Abortion Law in Ireland 
Article 40.3.3
Article 40.3.3, inserted following the Eighth Amendment referendum in 1983, provides that:
“The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.”
Introduction
Article 40.3.3 was inserted into the Irish Constitution by a referendum that was held in September 1983. The background to this amendment will become clear as this essay attempts to outline some of the substantive issues relating to Article 40.3.3. Fundamentally the wording of Article 40.3.3 sought to grant rights on the life of unborn children, placing these rights on a par with the rights of the mother.
It may seem extraordinary, but no definition of what constitutes the ‘unborn’ has ever been provided by the Constitution, in Legislation, or in any judgement. As will be shown, some judicial comments have been made about its meaning – but none definitive.
At present, Abortion Law in Ireland is considered ambiguous, with Jennifer Schweppe disclosing in her book “the right to life of the unborn has never been so unclear.” In the foreword, Mrs Justice Catherine McGuiness states that it is “hard to disagree.” Extra clarification of this point is highlighted throughout this essay and the question that begs to be answered is what effect did the Eighth Amendment have on Ireland’s vague and unclear abortion law?
Pre 1983
Early cases such as McGee indicate that abortion was illegal in Ireland up until 1982, this was particularly emphasised by Walsh J’s comments that the right to martial privacy could not extend to abortion and Schweppe also notes that there was “no question at that point in time other than that the judiciary believed that there was an unenumerated right to life of the unborn child in the Irish Constitution.”
Articles 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 criminalise women who ‘procure
Article 40.3.3, inserted following the Eighth Amendment referendum in 1983, provides that:
“The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.”
Introduction
Article 40.3.3 was inserted into the Irish Constitution by a referendum that was held in September 1983. The background to this amendment will become clear as this essay attempts to outline some of the substantive issues relating to Article 40.3.3. Fundamentally the wording of Article 40.3.3 sought to grant rights on the life of unborn children, placing these rights on a par with the rights of the mother.
It may seem extraordinary, but no definition of what constitutes the ‘unborn’ has ever been provided by the Constitution, in Legislation, or in any judgement. As will be shown, some judicial comments have been made about its meaning – but none definitive.
At present, Abortion Law in Ireland is considered ambiguous, with Jennifer Schweppe disclosing in her book “the right to life of the unborn has never been so unclear.” In the foreword, Mrs Justice Catherine McGuiness states that it is “hard to disagree.” Extra clarification of this point is highlighted throughout this essay and the question that begs to be answered is what effect did the Eighth Amendment have on Ireland’s vague and unclear abortion law?
Pre 1983
Early cases such as McGee indicate that abortion was illegal in Ireland up until 1982, this was particularly emphasised by Walsh J’s comments that the right to martial privacy could not extend to abortion and Schweppe also notes that there was “no question at that point in time other than that the judiciary believed that there was an unenumerated right to life of the unborn child in the Irish Constitution.”
Articles 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861 criminalise women who ‘procure