“It may not be long before the amendment is challenged. It may be that the Supreme Court will in the near future have to try and interpret the wording, which causes unease to so many people. It may be that this section will be struck out of our constitution as Article 44 was. In the meantime it will be the law of the land.”
In 1983, The Irish Times, in editorials such as the one quoted above, opposed the introduction of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution and, today, calls for its repeal in tomorrow's referendum.
“The Constitution is no place for abortion,” our leader says. “That was clear in 1983 and it is even clearer now. The Eighth Amendment describes a world that never existed – a place of moral absolutism, religious certainty, good and evil, black and white – and locks us into that illusion in perpetuity. To remove it is merely to reflect the world we live in: a contingent, uncertain place, full of messiness and ambiguity, where the distances between happiness and despair, public joy and private anguish, are agonisingly small.
“With a Yes vote, we can reject a worldview that relegates a woman’s bodily autonomy below the right of the State to tell her it knows best. We can bring an end to the secrecy and the shame. And we can embrace a more generous idea of the State itself.
“Repeal the Eighth.”
The campaigns - both the short one from when, in late March, the order for polling day was signed and the much longer campaign from 1983 – are in their final hours. The broadcast moratorium begins at lunchtime today, and the last of the big debates were held last night on TV3. The verdict of our Political Editor, Pat Leahy, on the last big event is here.
Over the past few days, the demeanour of those on the Yes side is one of suppressed excitement and joy; they believe, while at the same time daring not to, the tide is with them.
Equally, No campaigners are already trying to rationalise their anticipated defeat, as Miriam Lord outlines this morning.
At the Fine Gael parliamentary party meeting last night, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar warned the result, when announced on Saturday, should not lead to huge celebrations or attempts to claim credit.
One Fine Gael Minister privately told The Irish Times that whatever momentum No had was reversed over the past few days. The public settled on its view last weekend, he said, and its view is for repeal.
In our lead story, Simon Harris says the Government intends to pass its abortion legislation into law by the end of the year in the event of a Yes vote. Against this backdrop, some TDs opposed to abortion now say they will abstain when the legislation comes before the House, if the referendum passes.
But these considerations are for next week and thereafter; the immediate concern is polling day tomorrow.
The Irish Times will provide comprehensive coverage over the weekend, in print and online, including two special email digests on Saturday and Sunday mornings.
