Leo Varadkar celebrates Ireland’s decision to overturn abortion ban

Last week, the predominantly Catholic Ireland took a monumental step forward and voted to abolish its ban on abortions. The vote came in with 66.4 percent in favour of women’s rights, a nearly 2-1 victory. The decision was praised by Amnesty International as “the beginning of a new Ireland.”

Leo Varadkar, the country’s gay Prime Minister, told the BBC over the weekend: “I think what we’ve seen today really is a culmination of a quiet revolution that has been taking place in Ireland for the past 10 or 20 years. This has been a great exercise of democracy, and the people have spoken.”

Leo Varadkar, Taoiseach, Ireland. Photo: Annika Haas (EU2017EE)

Speaking directly to voters outside Dublin Castle when the decision was read, Varadkar said: “No more doctors telling their patients there is nothing that can be done for them in their own country. No more lonely journeys across the Irish Sea. No more stigma. The veil of secrecy is lifted. No more isolation. The burden of shame is gone.

“(To those who voted no) you may feel that the country has taken the wrong turn, is no longer a country you recognize. I would like to reassure you that Ireland is still the same country today as it was before, just a little more tolerant, open, and respectful.”

Varadkar promised to enact new laws by the end of the year.

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