The Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1992 (previously

bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Pla ...

no. 25 of 1992) is an

amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. The ...

to the

Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland ( ga, Bunreacht na hÉireann, ) is the fundamental law of Ireland. It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people. The constitution, based on a system of representative democracy, is broadly within the traditi ...

which specified that the protection of the right to life of the unborn does not limit freedom of travel in and out of the state. It was approved by

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a Representative democr ...

on 25 November 1992 and signed into law on 23 December of the same year. On 25 May 2018, a referendum was passed to replace the current provisions on the right to life of the unborn, on travel and on information with a clause allowing legislation on the termination of pregnancy.

Background

The Eighth Amendment in 1983 had added a subsection to the Constitution acknowledging the right of the life of the unborn. In ''

Attorney General v. X ''Attorney General v X'', 992IESC 1; 9921 IR 1, (more commonly known as the "X Case") was a landmark Irish Supreme Court case which established the right of Irish women to an abortion if a pregnant woman's life was at risk because of pregnancy, ...

'', commonly known as the X Case, the Attorney General had secured an injunction in the High Court preventing a 14-year-old girl who had become pregnant from

rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ...

from obtaining an abortion. While the Supreme Court reversed this injunction in March 1992, on the grounds that there was a risk to her life from

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Mental disorders (including depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, personality disorders, anxiety disorders), physical disorders (such as chronic fatigue syndrome), and ...

, they held that it would otherwise have been lawful. This amendment addressed this, so that the constitutional protection of unborn life could no longer restrict the freedom to travel. It was one of three amendments which were put to a referendum on 25 November 1992, the same day as a

general election A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. the Twelfth Amendment Bill, which would have held that the possibility of suicide was not a sufficient threat to justify an abortion, was rejected; the Fourteenth Amendment was approved, allowing freedom of access to information with respect to abortion.

Changes to the text

Insertion of a new paragraph in Article 40.3.3º: The subsection relating to abortion had originally been added by the Eighth Amendment in 1983. With the approval of the Thirteenth Amendment and the Fourteenth Amendment, the full text of Article 40.3.3º read as the follows:

Oireachtas debates

A previous amendment to the constitution had been proposed in a

private member's bill A private member's bill is a bill (proposed law) introduced into a legislature by a legislator who is not acting on behalf of the executive branch. The designation "private member's bill" is used in most Westminster system jurisdictions, in wh ...

by Labour Party TD

Brendan Howlin Brendan Howlin (born 9 May 1956) is an Irish Labour Party politician who has been a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Wexford constituency since 1987. He previously served as Leader of the Labour Party from 2016 to 2020, Minister for Public Expendit ...

on 12 May 1992. This proposed to insert the following subsection after Article 40.3.3º: This was defeated at Second Stage the following day by 62 votes to 67. The Thirteenth Amendment was proposed in the Dáil by

Minister for Justice A Ministry of Justice is a common type of government department that serves as a justice ministry. Lists of current ministries of justice Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Justice (Abkhazia) * Ministry of Justice (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Justi ...

Pádraig Flynn Pádraig Flynn (born 9 May 1939) is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician who served as European Commissioner for Social Affairs from 1993 to 1999, Minister for Industry and Commerce and Minister for Justice from 1992 to 1993, Minister for th ...

on 21 October 1992. It was passed in the Dáil on 22 October and in the Seanad on 30 October. It then proceeded to a referendum on 25 November.

Result

Deletion

On 25 May 2018, the

Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018 The Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland (previously bill no. 29 of 2018) is an amendment to the Constitution of Ireland which permits the Oireachtas to legislate for abortion. The constitution had previously prohibited abortio ...

was passed by referendum. After it was signed into law, it replaced the previous text of Article 40.3.3º with the following text:

References

External links

Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution Act 1992Referendum (Amendment) (No. 2) Act 1992Oireachtas Debate: Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 1992
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thirteenth Amendment Of The Constitution Of Ireland 1992 in Irish law 1992 in Irish politics 1992 referendums 13 13 13 13 November 1992 events in Europe Amendment, 13