We repealed the 8th Amendment

Published: Tuesday, July 03, 2018

As one of the leading organisations of the Together for Yes campaign, NWCI hailed the momentous Yes vote to remove the 8th Amendment from the Constitution as a historic moment of change in Ireland for women and girls. 

Orla O'Connor, Co-Director of Together for Yes and Director of NWCI said, 

 “We thank the 1.42 million voters, women and men, who voted Yes in every county, town and village in Ireland. The campaign by Together for Yes has unified the country as women and men in  rural and urban areas collectively understood the reality of abortion in Ireland and the need to provide abortion for women at home in their own country. We can now bring an end to the harm, stigma and secrecy caused by the 8th Amendment.The resounding support for women’s right to choose and to make their own decisions in pregnancy is overwhelming.”

While the analysis and reflection on the campaign is ongoing, here are already some of the facts and figures that highlight the scale of the campaign. 

- Almost 100 civil society organisations supported Together for Yes as Platform members, in addition to hundreds of local groups in every county of Ireland. 

- An enormously successful fundraising campaign, that fundraised over 1.6 million Euros, including a crowdfunding campaign that raised half a million Euros in four days, surpassing the target by more than 10 times. 

- A massive social media engagement and reach. There were 12 million Twitter impressions over the final 28 days. The campaign reached more than three million people on Facebook in the final week. 

- The biggest increase in the supplementary register before a referendum or election as young people registered to vote.  A huge mobilisation of in particular young women and a massive 94% increase in turnout among women aged 18-24 compared to the 2016 general election. 

Following the referendum, NWCI will be closely monitoring the adoption of the legislation for the introduction of abortion care in Ireland.