Ireland repeals ban on abortion

Ireland on Saturday voted to overturn the country’s controversial ban on abortion.

The nationwide referendum resulted in a landslide win of 66.4% to 33.6% for the repeal side.

The result was announced at Dublin Castle, eliciting wild cheers and jubilation from women and men.

Over 3.2 million registered voters cast their ballots at more than 6,500 polling stations across the country during the referendum which started on Friday.

Voters were asked to cast Yes or No vote on a question written on their ballots as to whether or not they agree to legalise abortions in the country.

A survey released five days prior to the referendum showed that 56 percent of the people would vote Yes, 27 percent would vote No, 14 percent say they don’t know while three percent would refuse to answer.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar is a strong advocate of the Yes campaign for the referendum.

Under the now-repealed law, abortion was illegal unless the life of the mother is in danger or the foetus is proven dead in the womb.

People opposed to the law had argued that it only adds pain and burden to pregnant women, as each year an estimated 3,000 pregnant women in Ireland secretly travel to neighbouring countries for abortion.