Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

25 November 1992 (1992-11-25)
Right to Life
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 572,177 34.65% No 1,079,297 65.35% Valid votes 1,651,474 95.28% Invalid or blank votes 81,835 4.72% Total votes 1,733,309 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 2,542,841 68.16%
Results by1992Dáil constituency

Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

25 November 1992 (1992-11-25)
Travel
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 1,035,308 62.39% No 624,059 37.61% Valid votes 1,659,367 95.71% Invalid or blank votes 74,454 4.29% Total votes 1,733,821 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 2,542,841 68.18%
Results by1992Dáil constituency

Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland

25 November 1992 (1992-11-25)
Information
Results
Choice Votes % Yes 992,833 59.88% No 665,106 40.12% Valid votes 1,657,939 95.70% Invalid or blank votes 74,494 4.30% Total votes 1,732,433 100.00% Registered voters/turnout 2,542,841 68.13%
Results by1992Dáil constituency

Three referendums were held inIreland on 25 November 1992, the same day as the1992 general election. Each was on a proposed amendment of theIrish constitution relating to thelaw on abortion. They were enumerated as theTwelfth,Thirteenth andFourteenth Amendments. The proposed Twelfth Amendment was rejected by voters while both the Thirteenth and Fourteenth were approved.

TheEighth Amendment of the Constitution was approved in a referendum in 1983. It inserted a new sub-section in section 3 of Article 40. The resulting Article 40.3.3° read:

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.

TheSociety for the Protection of Unborn Children obtained two injunctions affecting the availability of information on abortion services outside of the state. InAttorney General (Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (Ireland) Ltd.) v Open Door Counselling Ltd. and Dublin Wellwoman Centre Ltd. (1988), an injunction was granted restraining two counseling agencies from assisting women to travel abroad to obtain abortions or informing them of the methods of communications with such clinics, and inSociety for the Protection of Unborn Children (Ireland) Ltd. v Grogan (1989), an injunction was granted restraining threestudents' unions from distributing information on abortion available outside the state. The Fourteenth Amendment allowed for information on abortion under terms regulated by law.

In March 1992, the Supreme Court held in theX Case that a 14-year-old girl who had become pregnant as a result of rape could obtain an abortion in circumstances where there was a threat to her life from suicide. The proposed Twelfth and Thirteenth Amendments were held to reverse differing elements of theSupreme Court's judgment in theX Case in which it held that a risk of suicide by a pregnant woman could constitute a risk to her health which would justify an abortion, and that the courts had to power to grant an injunction preventing a pregnant woman from travelling abroad for an abortion. The Fourteenth Amendment also related to abortion and was introduced to reverse decision by the courts in the abortion information cases. In these cases — beginning withAttorney-General (Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child) v Open Door Counselling Ltd.^[1] — the courts had granted injunctions preventing individuals from distributing contact information for foreign abortion clinics.

TheTwelfth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1992 proposed that the possibility of suicide was not a sufficient threat to justify an abortion. The wording of the proposed amendment was:^[2]

It shall be unlawful to terminate the life of an unborn unless such termination is necessary to save the life, as distinct from the health, of the mother where there is an illness or disorder of the mother giving rise to a real and substantial risk to her life, not being a risk of self-destruction.

TheThirteenth Amendment of the Constitution provided that the prohibition ofabortion would not limitfreedom of travel fromIreland to other countries where a person might legally obtain an abortion. The wording of the proposed amendment was:^[2]

This subsection shall not limit freedom to travel between the State and another state.

TheFourteenth Amendment of the Constitution proposed:^[2]

This subsection shall not limit freedom to obtain or make available, in the State, subject to such conditions as may be laid down by law, information relating to services lawfully available in another state.

With the approval of the Thirteenth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment, the full text of Article 40.3.3° read as the follows:

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.

This subsection shall not limit freedom to travel between the State and another state.

This subsection shall not limit freedom to obtain or make available, in the State, subject to such conditions as may be laid down by law, information relating to services lawfully available in another state.

The Twelfth Amendment Bill was proposed in the Dáil byMinister for JusticePádraig Flynn.^[3] The Amendment was approved by the Dáil on 27 October 1992:^[4]

Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1992: Final Stages. Absolute majority: 83/166
Vote	Parties	Votes
YYes	Fianna Fáil (63),Progressive Democrats (5)	68 / 166
No	Fine Gael (35),Labour Party (13),Democratic Left (6),Green Party (1),Independent (2)	57 / 166

Fianna Fáil SenatorDes Hanafin, a member of thePro Life Campaign (PLC), did not vote for the government wording. He proposed an amendment at committee stage proposing the wording supported by the PLC:

It shall be unlawful to act in such a way as to bring about the termination of the life of an unborn unless such termination arises indirectly as a side-effect of treatment designed to protect the life of the mother.

This wording was not voted on, and the bill was approved by the Seanad on 30 October 1992.^[5]

Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1992: Final Stages. Absolute majority: 31/60
Vote	Parties	Votes
YYes	Fianna Fáil (26)	26 / 60
No	Fine Gael (11),Labour Party (2),Independent (3)	17 / 60

A previous amendment to the constitution had been proposed in aprivate member's bill byLabour Party TDBrendan Howlin on 12 May 1992.^[6] This proposed to insert the following subsection after Article 40.3.3°:

4° Sub-section 3 of this section shall not be invoked to prohibit or interfere with the exercise of the right—

i.to travel to and from the State for the purpose of receiving services lawfully available in other jurisdictions, or

ii. to obtain, within the State, information and counselling relating to such services.

The provision of such information and counselling may be regulated by law.

This was defeated at Second Stage the following day by 62 votes to 67.^[7]

The Thirteenth Amendment was proposed in the Dáil byMinister for JusticePádraig Flynn on 21 October 1992.^[8] It was passed in the Dáil on 22 October and in the Seanad on 30 October.^[9][10] It proceeded to a referendum on 25 November.

A previous amendment to the constitution had been proposed as aprivate member's bill byLabour Party TDBrendan Howlin on 12 May 1992.^[11] This proposed to insert the following subsection after Article 40.3.3°:

4° Sub-section 3 of this section shall not be invoked to prohibit or interfere with the exercise of the right—

i.to travel to and from the State for the purpose of receiving services lawfully available in other jurisdictions, or

ii. to obtain, within the State, information and counselling relating to such services.

The provision of such information and counselling may be regulated by law.

This was defeated at Second Stage the following day by 62 votes to 67.^[12]

The Fourteenth Amendment was proposed in the Dáil byMinister for JusticePádraig Flynn on 21 October 1992.^[13] It was passed in the Dáil on 22 October and in the Seanad on 30 October.^[14][15] It proceeded to a referendum on 25 November.

Twelfth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland Bill, 1992^[16][17]

Choice	Votes	%
No	1,079,297	65.35
Yes	572,177	34.65
Valid votes	1,651,474	95.28
Invalid or blank votes	81,835	4.72
Total votes	1,733,309	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	2,542,841	68.16

Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland referendum^[18][19]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	1,035,308	62.39
No	624,059	37.61
Valid votes	1,659,367	95.71
Invalid or blank votes	74,454	4.29
Total votes	1,733,821	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	2,542,841	68.18

Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland referendum^[20][21]

Choice	Votes	%
Yes	992,833	59.88
No	665,106	40.12
Valid votes	1,657,939	95.70
Invalid or blank votes	74,494	4.30
Total votes	1,732,433	100.00
Registered voters/turnout	2,542,841	68.13

The legislation anticipated by the Fourteenth Amendment was provided for in the Regulation of Information (Services Outside the State For Termination of Pregnancies) Act 1995. This bill wasreferred by the President to the Supreme Court prior to its enactment, which upheld it as constitutional, having assigned counsel to argue that it provided inadequate protection to the life of the unborn, and counsel to argue that it provided inadequate protection to the rights of a woman. It wasfound to be constitutional and signed into law on 12 May 1995.

No legislation was enacted in the aftermath of the defeated 12th referendum. In 2002, the proposedTwenty-fifth Amendment would have similarly excluded the risk of suicide as grounds for an abortion. On this occasion, the government proposal did have the support of thePro Life Campaign. This too was rejected in a referendum, but by a much narrower margin.

TheEuropean Court of Human Rights found against the state inA, B and C v Ireland (2010). The government responded to this with the enactment of theProtection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, which provided for abortion in the cases where there was a risk to the life of the woman, including from a risk of suicide.

On 25 May 2018, theThirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution was passed by referendum.^[22] It was enacted on 18 September 2018, replacing the previous text of Article 40.3.3° with:^[23]

3° Provision may be made by law for the regulation of termination of pregnancy.

• C Case

• Mercereau, Jean (2007)."Public Representations of a Private Choice: Irish Daily Newspapers and the Referenda on Abortion of 1992 and 2002"(PDF).Irish Studies in Europe.1:151–159.
• Cacciaguidi-Fahy, Sophie (2005)."The substantive Issue and the Rhetoric of the Abortion Debate in Ireland". In Wagner, Anne; Summerfield, Tracey; Benavides Vanegas, Farid Samir (eds.).Contemporary Issues of the Semiotics of Law. Oxford: Hart Publishing. p. 154.ISBN 1841135453. Retrieved26 May 2018.

• Referendum (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1992
• Full text of the Constitution of Ireland
• Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1992
• Oireachtas Debate: Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1992
• Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1992
• Regulation of Information (Services Outside the State For Termination of Pregnancies) Act 1995
• Oireachtas Debates: Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1992

• 1992 in Irish law
• 1992 in Irish politics
• 1992 referendums
• Constitutional referendums in the Republic of Ireland
• November 1992 in Europe
• 1990s elections in Ireland

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