The Supreme Court on Friday decided that there were no grounds to hear an appeal [1] of the High Court’s rejection of a challenge to the abortion referendum result. This removes the last impediment to finalising the result of the referendum. Once the returning officer Barry Ryan certifies the final result, President Michael D Higgins is expected to sign the abortion referendum bill into law next week, deleting the constitutional ban on abortion and paving the way for the government to introduce legislation allowing for abortion to the Dáil in the coming weeks.
The Chief Justice, Mr Justice Frank Clarke, Mr Justice Donal O’Donnell and Mr Justice Peter Charleton met privately in chambers on Thursday to consider the appeal. They said there were essentially two grounds of appeal. The first concerned the engagement of members of the government on the Yes side of the referendum campaign and certain claims about what was said by government members during the campaign. The second ground concerned alleged irregularities in the registration of voters and conduct of the referendum.
Rejecting both these arguments, the Justices ruled the petition had not met the constitutional criteria for an appeal as it did not show stateable grounds that raised issues of general public importance nor did it establish that an appeal was necessary in the interests of justice. They also order the plaintiff to pay the costs of the case.
Meanwhile, doctors in Ireland could be allowed directly refer women to the UK for abortions [2] until the new abortion law is implemented early next year, Minister for Health Simon Harris has signaled.