Amnesty International considers the Eighth Amendment the root cause of the human rights violations inflicted on women and girls on a daily basis by Ireland’s restrictive and punitive laws on abortion access and information. The Eighth Amendment must be fully repealed to enable Ireland to introduce a human rights compliant abortion framework.
This submission is intended to provide guidance to the Citizens’ Assembly as to how its conclusions and recommendations to the Oireachtas on the Eighth Amendment can ensure that women’s and girls’ health and human rights are respected, protected and fulfilled, in line with Ireland’s legal obligations under international human rights treaties it has ratified.
It outlines Ireland’s international human rights obligations related to women’s and girls’ access to sexual and reproductive health information and services, including abortion. It discusses the elements of a legal framework for access to abortion and service provision that align with international human rights law and legal standards. It begins with an overview of the basis for State obligations to provide access to abortion services. It then moves to specific legal, policy and regulatory concerns States must consider, as well as some practical concerns for health systems.
This submission also provides detailed guidance on the key international human rights standards – and how they are evolving – that the Assembly should take into account as it reviews the current constitutional and legal framework for abortion in Ireland.
You can also read our address to the Citizens’ Assembly below: