European Court Rules Against Ireland's Restrictive Abortion Laws

Last week the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Ireland’s law prohibiting abortions violated a woman’s constitutional rights.

The case, litigated by former Legal Momentum Staff Attorney Julie F. Kay, concerned a Lithuanian woman living in Ireland who sought an abortion after learning she had a rare form of cancer. Irish doctors refused to perform the procedure, flouting a 1992 Irish Supreme Court ruling that legalized abortion if the pregnancy endangered the mother’s life. The 1992 ruling also required that the Irish government clarify the country’s abortion laws. The government has yet to do so.

It is likely that the Irish government will have to pass new legislation reflecting the European Court of Human Rights’ ruling. The Court ruled that Irish doctors need clear guidance on when abortions are permissible.

Ireland will not have to make substantial changes to its abortion law, however. According to The New York Times, the Court upheld

The country’s right to prohibit abortion in most cases…while Ireland’s restrictions on
abortion interfered with [women’s] right to have their private lives respected, the interference was justified because of the "legitimate aim or protecting public morals
as understood in Ireland."

Despite these qualifications, the European Court of Human Rights’ decision is a remarkable leap forward for Irish women’s rights, and, as Jodi Jacobson notes at RH Reality Check, quite possibly for women throughout the world:

The decision could have ramifications beyond Ireland. Lack of clarity on abortion laws
and lack of access to services…denies women the right to life in many countries...
This case may spark the necessary public discussion and in-country attention...
to further clarify laws and policies in countries where they remain cloudy.

We certainly hope so.

Learn more about Legal Momentum's history of work on reproductive justice.

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