POLL: 77% support legalising abortion in cases of rape, incest or child abuse

The latest poll on Irish abortion laws has shown more support for the regulation of abortion than repealing the Eighth Amendment.

A new Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI opinion poll has revealed that the majority of Irish voters (38%) favour replacing the Eighth Amendment with a more liberal constitutional provision.

The opinion poll was conducted on Monday and Tuesday of this week using a sample of 1,200 voters in all constituencies, aged 18 and over.

The results of the poll, published today, show that 28% wish to see the Eighth Amendment removed completely from Irish law in order to allow the Dáil to legislate on abortion.

Only 16% of respondents stated that they are against either repeal or replacement of the controversial amendment.

A significant majority (77%) said they are in favour of making abortion legal in cases of rape, incest or child abuse. A similar percentage (76%) stated that abortion should be legal if the foetus will not survive outside the womb. Exactly half of those surveyed (50%) say that abortion should be allowed if the child is expected to have a severe mental or physical disability.

However, just 28% said they agreed that abortion should be legal where a woman believes she would be unable to cope because of her age or circumstances.

The Citizen’s Assembly will convene again this weekend in Dublin to consider the future of the Eighth Amendment. It is believed the Assembly will make their recommendations to the Dáil by the end of June.