6,666 abortions carried out in Ireland since Eight Amendment was repealed
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6,666 abortions carried out in Ireland since Eight Amendment was repealed

SINCE legislation was passed to repeal the Eight Amendment, some 6,666 abortions have officially taken place in Ireland.

According to Department of Health statistics, the vast majority of these terminations (6,542) happened within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

It was also noted that in 100 of these cases, an abortion was carried out due to a condition that was likely to lead to the death of the foetus, while a further 12 were carried out because there was a risk to life or health of the mother.

Dublin - unsurprisingly - has seen the most terminations, with 2,493 taking place in the nation's capital.

Cork's figures stand at 606 while Kildare, Galway and Meath follow closely behind in total numbers.

Following the result of a referendum in May 2018, Ireland decided to get rid of the Eighth Amendment which was inserted into the Irish constitution in 1983, and acknowledged 'the right to life of the unborn'.

A 66% vote saw legislation passed in November 2018 to remove the amendment.

Those who campaigned to do so argued that it was wrong that the right to life of a foetus seemingly superseded the rights to life, health, dignity and privacy of women and girls.