IRELAND (BP) — A leading Irish pro-life group admitted defeat Saturday (May 26) in its effort to keep the country’s protections for unborn children.
Two exit polls taken Friday indicated about 70 percent of voters opted to repeal the Eighth Amendment to the country’s constitution, which granted unborn babies the same legal rights as their mothers. See related Baptist Press report. The final figures were 66.4 percent in favor of the change and 33.6 percent voting no, according to the BBC.
The law effectively prevented all abortions except when the mother’s life was in danger. John McGuirk, a spokesman for Save the 8th, called the result a “tragedy of historic proportions.”
The government, which supported the repeal effort, plans to allow abortion for babies up to 12 weeks gestation.
