16th December 2016
IPRT has considered the issue of the Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution and endorses the recommendations of the UN Human Rights Committee, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission that the State take all the steps necessary, including a referendum on abortion, to revise its law to bring it in line with international human rights standards.
IPRT supports the position of IHREC that the current legal position in Ireland in relation to abortion not only puts in place barriers which impede a woman’s right to bodily autonomy, but also that it has a disproportionate impact on women from lower socio-economic backgrounds and in particular women whose ability to travel may be circumscribed due to their status, including their status as female prisoners.
Read the submission here.
Respect for rights in the penal system with prison as a last resort.