Image copyright Getty Images Image caption Emotions have been running high during the campaign

Counting has started in the Irish abortion referendum, hours after exit polls suggested a landslide vote in favour of liberalising the law.

Polls by The Irish Times and RTÉ suggested about 69% voted to repeal a part of the constitution that effectively bans terminations.

One of the main anti-abortion campaigns has already conceded defeat.

"The unborn child no longer has a right to life recognised by the Irish state," said John McGuirk, from Save the 8th.

Counting began at 09:00 local time and the result is expected by the evening.

Those taking part in Friday's referendum were asked whether they wanted to repeal or retain a part of the constitution known as the Eighth Amendment, which says an unborn child has the same right to life as a pregnant woman.

'Broken-hearted'

Mr McGuirk, communications director of the anti-abortion Save The 8th campaign, conceded defeat and said No campaigners were "deeply broken-hearted".

"Shortly, legislation will be introduced that will allow babies to be killed in our country," his statement said.

Image copyright Getty Images Image caption The Eighth Amendment was introduced after a referendum in 1983

However, he vowed that No campaigners would continue to protest, "if and when abortion clinics are opened in Ireland".

"Every time an unborn child has his or her life ended in Ireland, we will oppose that, and make our voices known," he added.

Earlier, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar, who supported the reforms, said it looked as if the country was about to "make history".

Broadcaster RTÉ's exit poll suggested 69.4% in favour of the Yes side and 30.6% for No. In Dublin, 79% of people voted for repeal, according to the RTÉ poll.

An exit poll released by The Irish Times points to 68% Yes to 32% for No.

Tweeting on Friday night, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said: "Thank you to everyone who voted today. Democracy in action. It's looking like we will make history tomorrow... "

In other reaction:

Irish health minister Simon Harris tweeted: "Will sleep tonight in the hope of waking up to a country that is more compassionate, more caring and more respectful"

Prominent No campaigner Cora Sherlock expressed disappointment at the exit polls but said the pro-life movement would "rise to any challenge it faces". She added: "Let's go into tomorrow with this in mind"

Penny Mordaunt, the UK's minister for women and equalities, called it a "historic and great day for Ireland and a hopeful one for Northern Ireland". Northern Ireland's abortion laws are much stricter than the rest of the UK

The leader of Northern Ireland's centrist Alliance Party, Naomi Long, said it appeared to be an "incredible result" for the Yes campaign

Currently, abortion is only allowed when a woman's life is at risk, but not in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormality.

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption "Legislation will go as quickly as possible"

The turnout looks to have been higher than that for the country's referendum on same-sex marriage and its most recent general election.

More than 3.2 million people were registered to vote in the referendum, with more than 100,000 new voters registering ahead of the poll.

The referendum was the result of a decades-long debate about abortion in the Republic of Ireland and was the country's sixth vote on the issue.

Where does the law stand?

The now-controversial Eighth Amendment was introduced after a referendum in 1983.

It "acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right" - meaning the life of the woman and the unborn are seen as equal.

Since 2013, terminations have only been allowed in Ireland when the life of the mother is at risk, including from suicide.

Image copyright Brian Lawless Image caption Young and old have been turning out at count centres

The maximum penalty for accessing an illegal abortion is 14 years in prison.

In 2017, the Citizens' Assembly, a body set up to advise the Irish government on constitutional change, voted to replace or amend the part of Ireland's Constitution which strictly limits the availability of abortion.

So the Irish people were asked if they wanted to remove the Eighth Amendment and allow politicians to set the country's abortion laws in the future.

The wording on the ballot paper was: "Provision may be made by law for the regulation of termination of pregnancies."

Media playback is unsupported on your device Media caption The background and potential outcomes to the Republic of Ireland's abortion referendum

The ballot paper did not mention the Eighth Amendment or abortion, instead asking: "Do you approve of the proposal to amend the Constitution contained in the undermentioned Bill?"

Those who wanted to retain the Eighth Amendment voted No, while those who wanted to replace it voted Yes.

If a majority has voted yes - as appears to be the case - then the Irish government's recommendation is that women will be able to access a termination within the first 12 weeks of their pregnancy.

However, beyond 12 weeks, abortions would only be permitted where there is a risk to a woman's life or of serious harm to the physical or mental health of a woman, up until the 24th week of pregnancy.

Terminations would also be permitted in cases of fatal foetal abnormality. </s> Garda Alan Gallagher and Presiding Officer Carmel McBride carry a polling box, used, a day early, by the few people that live off the coast of Donegal on the island of Inishbofin on May 24, 2018 in Donegal, Ireland.

DUBLIN — Prime Minister Leo Varadkar urged people voting Friday in Ireland's abortion referendum to remove the country's "legacy of shame" toward women by overturning the strict abortion law that fiercely divides this Catholic nation.

"If we don't remove the (Eighth) Amendment from the constitution, our doctors and lawmakers can't do anything for women. They can't do anything for women who have been raped, who are children themselves or who have been given the heartbreaking news of fatal fetal abnormality," Varadkar said.

The vote was expected to be an extremely close contest, with polls closing at 10 p.m. local time (5 p.m. ET). The result of the highly controversial issue is expected Saturday afternoon.

But the Irish Times predicted that voters, 68% to 32%, backed repealing Ireland’s Eighth Amendment that affords a fetus the same protections as the woman.

The exit poll by the Irish Times was conducted by Ipsos/MRBI among 4,000 respondents at 160 polling stations in 158 Irish constituencies.

A second exit poll published Friday on Ireland’s abortion referendum, this time by the nation’s state broadcaster, showed that voters who support women’s abortion rights won a landslide victory.

RTÉ, which commissioned the poll in association with several Irish universities, found that Irish voters 69.4% to 30.6% want the country to change its constitution so that abortion is legal up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Both polls, from RTÉ and the Irish Times newspaper, indicated a far wider margin of victory for the “Yes” side than forecast in the run up to the vote after a long and divisive campaign.

Support to overturn Ireland’s Eighth Amendment was driven by large numbers of younger voters, according to the exit polls.

Fully legalized abortion is perhaps the last significant cultural taboo that Catholic-majority Ireland has grappled with following earlier votes on contraception, divorce, homosexuality and same-sex marriage.

The vote count begins on Saturday morning, with an official result expected in the early afternoon, although it could come later if turnout is especially high.

About 3.3 million people are registered to vote.

Ireland has held six referendums on various issues over the last decade.

The last one was in 2015, on same-sex marriage. Voters endorsed it.

Fine weather over much of the country, including the capital Dublin, helped feed the high turnout.

Currently, abortion is only allowed in Ireland if a women's life is at risk. A "Yes" vote to repeal the Eighth Amendment, which states that a fetus has an equal right to life as the woman, would mean that Irish women would be able to get an abortion at up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

It would be a major step for a country where almost 80% of the population still strongly identify as Catholic.

An average of nine women travel every day from Ireland to the United Kingdom, where abortion is legal, to terminate pregnancies, according to the Irish government. Three women each day take abortion pills bought online, risking a 14-year jail sentence.

"If the referendum doesn't pass, these women will continue to have to travel abroad in their thousands," Varadkar said.

John McGuirk, a prominent Irish abortion rights opponent, noted that Friday is an international missing children's day.

"In the U.K., 8 million children have gone missing since the abortion law was introduced. I hope Ireland will not make the same mistake today," McGuirk said.

Save The 8th, an organization that opposes abortion, sent an email Friday morning to supporters and media targeted at undecided voters. "Abortion does one thing, and one thing only — it kills a baby," it said.

In Dublin, "Yes" campaigners handed out stickers at major pedestrian crossroads. And many people who voted on their way to work wore "I voted" buttons.

More: Both sides in Irish landmark abortion vote make final pleas to voters

More: Ireland to be tested by abortion vote on whether to overturn near-total ban

The major newspapers carried "letters to the editor" from concerned citizens.

"If we vote 'Yes,' every unborn, wanted and unwanted, will have zero rights," wrote Frances Kelleher, from Killarney, in the Irish Independent. "I do not believe the smart people of Ireland want this unrestricted, abortion-on-demand bill. I will be voting 'No.' "

If the vote passes it would be another social-change milestone for Ireland after it legalized contraception (1979), divorce (1995) and same-sex marriage (2015).

It would also leave just three places in Europe where abortion is illegal unless a woman’s life is at risk: the micro-states of Andorra and San Marino, and Malta.

In the United States, President Trump plans to cut funding to family-planning clinics that offer abortion services. He has also vowed to appoint enough Supreme Court justices who oppose abortion to overturn Roe v. Wade, the abortion rights decision from 1973.

Thousands of Irish nationals traveled home to cast their vote in Friday's referendum. Their stories, and journeys, have been filling up social media platforms using the #hometovote hashtag.

"No flights left from London, so I have a 4 hour train, 4 hour wait and 3 hour ferry to make it home to vote- which is a walk in the park in comparison to the journey that Irish women are making every day to the UK," @MichelleMarleyy wrote.

Liam Dunne, 63, a farmer who lives south of Dublin and supports a woman's right to abortion, said he was confident his side would prevail. He believes that abortion should be a personal decision and not up to the government to decide.

"The way it is now, it's a bit like in America where sometimes there's nothing to prevent your neighbor from buying a gun. It leaves you feeling a little bit powerless," he said. </s> The Latest on the Irish abortion referendum (all times local):

Ireland's Minister for Children and Youth Affairs says she is grateful and emotional over with the apparent decision of voters to repeal the constitutional ban on abortions in Friday's landmark referendum.

Katherine Zappone said Saturday she is confident new abortion legislation can be approved by parliament and put in place before the end of the year.

"I feel very emotional," she said. "I'm especially grateful to the women of Ireland who came forward to provide their personal testimony about the hard times that they endured,?the stress and the trauma that they experienced because of the eighth amendment."

The eighth amendment requires authorities to treat a fetus and its mother as equals under the law, effectively banning abortions. Currently, terminations are only allowed when a woman's life is at risk.

Exit polls predict overwhelming support for the repeal of the constitutional ban. Officials results are expected Saturday afternoon.

One of Ireland's leading anti-abortion groups says the abortion referendum result is a "tragedy of historic proportions" in a statement that all but admits defeat in the historic vote.

Spokesman John McGuirk of the Save the 8th?group — which refers to the Eighth Amendment in the constitution that bans abortions — told Irish television Saturday that many Irish citizens will not recognize the country they are waking up in.

The official vote tally for Friday's vote has not been finished but exit polls predict a massive victory for repealing the constitutional ban.

McGuirk said it will now be relatively easy for the government to pass more liberal abortion laws in the parliament.

"There is no prospect of the legislation not being passed," he says.

The government proposes that women be allowed to terminate pregnancies in the first 12 weeks.

Official counting is set to begin in Ireland's historic abortion rights referendum, with two exit polls predicting an overwhelming victory for those seeking to end the country's strict ban.

The Irish Times and RTE television exit polls suggest the Irish people have voted to repeal a 1983 constitutional amendment that effectively bans abortions. Currently, terminations are only allowed when a woman's life is at risk.

The exit polls are predictions only, with official results expected Saturday afternoon. Paper ballots must be counted and tallied.

If the "yes" forces seeking a constitutional change prevail as the polls suggest, Ireland's parliament will be charged with coming up with new abortion laws.

The government proposes to allow abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy with later terminations allowed in some cases. </s> People cast ballots in Ireland’s referendum on whether or not to liberalize the country’s abortion laws. (The Associated Press)

Voters asked whether to keep or repeal Eighth Amendment to Roman Catholic Ireland’s Constitution

Abortion rights activists proclaimed victory for Irish women Saturday as referendum results indicated voters in largely Roman Catholic Ireland overwhelmingly backed repealing a 1983 constitutional ban on abortions.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar, speaking Saturday after exit polls suggested voters chose to liberalize Ireland’s strict abortion laws by a margin of more than two to one, called the result the culmination of a “quiet revolution.”

“The people have spoken,” said Varadkar, a medical doctor who campaigned for repeal in Friday’s historic referendum. “The people have said that we want a modern constitution for a modern country, that we trust women and we respect them to make the right decision and the right choices about their health care.”

Varadkar said the large margin of victory will give his government a greater mandate when drafting abortion legislation that will be submitted for parliamentary approval in a matter of months.

Voters were asked whether they wanted to keep or repeal the Eighth Amendment to Ireland’s Constitution, which requires authorities to treat a fetus and its mother as equals under the law. It outlawed all abortions until 2014, when the procedure started being allowed in rare cases when a woman’s life was in danger.

Campaigners who have fought for more than three decades to remove the Eighth Amendment abortion ban from Ireland’s Constitution hailed the referendum vote as a major breakthrough for the largely Catholic nation.

READ MORE: Trudeau abortion policy raises ire of U.S. right

“This is a monumental day for women in Ireland,” said Orla O’Connor, co-director of the Together for Yes group. “This is about women taking their rightful place in Irish society, finally.”

The vote is a “rejection of an Ireland that treated women as second-class citizens,” she said, adding: “This is about women’s equality and this day brings massive change, monumental change for women in Ireland, and there is no going back.”

If the partial results hold up, the referendum would likely end the need for thousands of Irish women to travel abroad — mostly to neighbouring Britain — for abortions they can’t get at home.

Opponents of the repeal movement have conceded they have no chance of victory.

John McGuirk, spokesman for the Save the 8th group, told Irish television Saturday that many Irish citizens will not recognize the country they are waking up in. The group said on its website that Irish voters have created a “tragedy of historic proportions,” but McGuirk said the vote must be respected.

“You can still passionately believe that the decision of the people is wrong, as I happen to do, and accept it,” he said.

Official counting for Friday’s referendum on whether or not to liberalize Ireland’s abortion laws was still underway, and final results were not expected until later Saturday. More than half of the country’s 40 regions had been counted by 4:00 p.m. and showed 68 per cent supporting the amendment’s repeal.

Exit polls from the Irish Times and broadcaster RTE suggested the Irish people have voted by nearly 70 per cent to repeal the Eighth Amendment.

It indicated that about 72 per cent of women voted “yes” along with about 66 per cent of men. The strongest backing came from younger voters — the exit poll said the only age group in which a majority voted “no” were voters who are 65 or older. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 1.6 per cent.

The magnitude of the predicted victory exceeded the expectations of abortion rights activists. Surprisingly, they also suggest that supporters of more liberal abortion laws may have triumphed throughout the country, not just in the cosmopolitan capital, Dublin, where a strong youth vote had been anticipated.

Ireland’s parliament will be charged with coming up with new abortion laws in the coming months. The government proposes to allow abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, with later terminations allowed in some cases.

Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. </s> A leading campaigner for repealing Ireland's constitutional ban on abortions says it's a "monumental day for women in Ireland" after voters appeared to have overwhelmingly backed liberalizing the country's strict abortion laws.



Orla O'Connor, co-director of the Together for Yes group, said Saturday: "This is about women taking their rightful place in Irish society, finally."

Votes for Friday's historic referendum are still being counted, but two exit polls predict a landslide victory for those who want to repeal the constitutional ban on abortions. A leading anti-abortion group admitted defeat Saturday.

O'Connor said the vote is a "rejection of an Ireland that treated women as second-class citizens. This is about women's equality and this day brings massive change, monumental change for women in Ireland, and there is no going back."

___

12 noon

Ireland's Minister for Children and Youth Affairs says she is grateful and emotional over with the apparent decision of voters to repeal the constitutional ban on abortions in Friday's landmark referendum.

Katherine Zappone said Saturday she is confident new abortion legislation can be approved by parliament and put in place before the end of the year.

"I feel very emotional," she said. "I'm especially grateful to the women of Ireland who came forward to provide their personal testimony about the hard times that they endured, the stress and the trauma that they experienced because of the eighth amendment."

The eighth amendment requires authorities to treat a fetus and its mother as equals under the law, effectively banning abortions. Currently, terminations are only allowed when a woman's life is at risk.

Exit polls predict overwhelming support for the repeal of the constitutional ban. Officials results are expected Saturday afternoon.

___

10:40 a.m.

One of Ireland's leading anti-abortion groups says the abortion referendum result is a "tragedy of historic proportions" in a statement that all but admits defeat in the historic vote.

Spokesman John McGuirk of the Save the 8th group — which refers to the Eighth Amendment in the constitution that bans abortions — told Irish television Saturday that many Irish citizens will not recognize the country they are waking up in.

The official vote tally for Friday's vote has not been finished but exit polls predict a massive victory for repealing the constitutional ban.

McGuirk said it will now be relatively easy for the government to pass more liberal abortion laws in the parliament.

"There is no prospect of the legislation not being passed," he says.

The government proposes that women be allowed to terminate pregnancies in the first 12 weeks.

___

7 a.m.

Official counting is set to begin in Ireland's historic abortion rights referendum, with two exit polls predicting an overwhelming victory for those seeking to end the country's strict ban.

The Irish Times and RTE television exit polls suggest the Irish people have voted to repeal a 1983 constitutional amendment that effectively bans abortions. Currently, terminations are only allowed when a woman's life is at risk.

The exit polls are predictions only, with official results expected Saturday afternoon. Paper ballots must be counted and tallied.

If the "yes" forces seeking a constitutional change prevail as the polls suggest, Ireland's parliament will be charged with coming up with new abortion laws.

The government proposes to allow abortion in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy with later terminations allowed in some cases. </s> (CNN) The Irish government announced Tuesday that a referendum on the country's abortion laws -- some of Europe's most restrictive -- will be held next year.

In a statement, the Irish government said the referendum would be held in May or June 2018, just months before Pope Francis is due to visit the Catholic-majority country.

Ireland's abortion laws are drawn from the 8th amendment to the country's constitution, which places the right to life of an unborn child on equal footing with the right to life of the mother.

Ireland's Prime Minister, or Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, who came to power in June, pledged to hold a referendum following the non-binding recommendations of a Citizen's Assembly. The group heard harrowing testimony from scores of Irish women and received more than 13,000 individual submissions

In Tuesday's statement, Varadkar said the Citizen's Assembly report was "currently being considered" by a parliamentary committee. The precise timetable for the referendum would be defined in legislation that would be brought forward.

"A Bill to amend the Constitution will be prepared in light of the committee's report, and subject to its passage by the Houses of the Oireachtas (Parliament), a referendum will be held in May or June of 2018."

Varadkar has generally expressed conservative views on abortion, although he has suggested the 8th amendment is too restrictive.

"Any amendment to our Constitution requires careful consideration by the people," he said Tuesday. "They should be given ample time to consider the issues and to take part in well-informed public debate."

Calls to "Repeal the 8th" have been steadily growing for years. In March, thousands of activists brought Dublin to a halt during the Strike 4 Repeal rally.

This Saturday, organizers expect tens of thousands to demonstrate in the Irish capital at the sixth annual March for Choice.

Many local abortion rights activists applauded Tuesday's announcement, but noted that the terms of the referendum might only be a first step for the repeal movement.

Linda Kavanagh, spokesperson for the Abortion Rights Campaign told CNN: "We welcome the news that the referendum will be in the first half of the 2018. We have all waited long enough to be allowed to make decisions about our own bodies."

"However we reserve judgment until we see the wording of the referendum...We fear that the wording of a referendum will offer only very limited abortion access and repeat the failures of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act."

"We need broad-based legislation so that real and realistic access is given, otherwise thousands will still travel or break the law by importing and taking abortion pills. It is vital that the government realize that the 30,000 plus people who take to the streets on Saturday for the March for Choice are doing it because they want free, safe and legal abortion access," Kavanagh added.

Anti-abortion campaigners said they would continue their campaign in light of Tuesday's announcement.

Cora Sherlock, a spokesperson for Ireland's Pro Life Campaign group told CNN: "We have never claimed that Ireland is perfect, but we have every reason to be proud of the 8th Amendment.

"The Pro Life Campaign will continue to highlight the positive effects of the 8th Amendment and the devastating effect abortion has had in countries where the rights of the baby are set at zero." </s> Garda Alan Gallagher and Presiding Officer Carmel McBride carry a polling box, used, a day early, by the few people that live off the coast of Donegal on the island of Inishbofin on May 24, 2018 in Donegal, Ireland.

DUBLIN — Prime Minister Leo Varadkar urged people voting in Ireland's abortion referendum to remove the country's "legacy of shame" over the way it has treated women by overturning an abortion ban that has fiercely divided this Catholic nation.

"If we don't remove the (Eighth) Amendment from the constitution our doctors and lawmakers can't do anything for women. They can't do anything for women who have been raped, who are children themselves or who have been given the heartbreaking news of fatal fetal abnormality," Varadkar said Friday, as voting stations opened across Ireland in what is expected to be an extremely close contest over a highly emotive issue. "If the referendum doesn't pass these women will continue to have to travel abroad in their thousands," Varadkar said.

Voting finishes at 10 p.m. (5 p.m. ET) and the result is expected Saturday afternoon.

Abortion is only allowed in Ireland if a women's life is at risk. A "Yes" vote to repeal the Eighth Amendment, which states that a fetus has an equal right to life as the woman, would mean that Irish women would be able to get an abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy. It would be a controversial step for a country where almost 80% of the population still identify themselves as Catholic even though the church's reputation has been severely dented in recent decades by a series of abuse and sex scandals.

An average of nine women travel every day from Ireland to the United Kingdom, where abortion is legal, to terminate pregnancies, according to the Irish government. Three women each day take abortion pills bought online, risking a 14-year jail sentence.

More: Both sides in Irish landmark abortion vote make final pleas to voters

More: Ireland to be tested by abortion vote on whether to overturn near-total ban

"Today is an international missing children's day. In the U.K., 8 million children have gone missing since the abortion law was introduced. I hope Ireland will not make the same mistake today," John McGuirk, a prominent Irish abortion rights opponent, said.

Save The 8th, an organization that opposes abortion, sent an email Friday to supporters, media and any undecided voters.

"Abortion does one thing, and one thing only — it kills a baby," it said.

If the vote passes it would be another social-change milestone for Ireland after it legalized contraception (1979), divorce (1995) and same-sex marriage (2015).

It would also leave just three places in Europe where abortion is illegal unless a woman’s life is at risk: the micro-states of Andorra and San Marino, and Malta.

In the USA, President Trump plans to cut funding to family-planning clinics that offer abortion services. He has also vowed to appoint enough Supreme Court justices who oppose abortion to overturn Roe v. Wade, the abortion rights decision from 1973. </s> Dublin – Ireland announced it will hold a referendum next year on whether to repeal its constitutional ban on abortion in almost all cases – just a few weeks before Pope Francis visits.

The government is also planning votes to remove Ireland's anti-blasphemy law and to reduce the time couples must spend apart before divorcing.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has previously said the eighth amendment of the constitution, which makes abortion illegal unless there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother, was "too restrictive".

His government has decided on Tuesday that a referendum – which must be agreed by parliament – should take place in May or June 2018, just before the pope visits in August to attend the World Meeting of Families.

Abortion has always been illegal in Ireland but was inserted into the constitution in 1983 following a referendum, in which 67% of voters were in favour and 33% against.

The eighth amendment recognises the equal right to life of the unborn child and the mother – and a woman convicted of having an illegal termination faces 14 years in prison.

However, women are free to travel abroad for abortions and thousands do so every year, mainly to England.

Opinion polls in recent years have consistently indicated strong support for reform in Ireland, which remains largely Catholic but where scandals have dented the church's authority.

Thousands of people are expected in Dublin on Saturday for the annual "March for Choice", declaring: "We are ready for change".

"We need access to free, safe and legal abortion for all who need or want it. And we need it now," organisers said.

The Abortion Rights Campaign said it "cautiously" welcomed the announcement.

"It depends on the wording of the referendum," spokesperson Linda Kavanagh told AFP, fearing that it could be watered down from broad access to abortion.

Meanwhile, Cora Sherlock, spokesperson of the Pro-Life Campaign, told AFP: "If the eighth amendment were to be amended or repealed, we would inevitably end up with a situation similar to every other country which introduced abortion on 'restrictive' grounds but subsequently ended up with abortion on wide-ranging grounds."

The Irish constitution can only be amended by referendum, and in 2015 it became the first country to legalise gay marriage that way.

The government set out a timetable on Tuesday for several votes over the next two years, including on reducing the time couples must wait before a divorce from four to two years.

In October 2018, it proposes a referendum on the constitutional amendment which makes illegal the "publication or utterance of blasphemous, seditious or indecent matter".

At the same time, it proposes a vote to repeal or change a section relating to a woman's duties in the home, perhaps to make it gender neutral and to include other caring responsibilities.

"Any amendment to our constitution requires careful consideration by the people," Varadkar said in a statement.

"They should be given ample time to consider the issues and to take part in well-informed public debate," he said.

"Setting a timetable for the referendums to be held over the next two years will allow all involved in campaigning on the issues to plan ahead and to facilitate that public debate." </s> Voters throughout Ireland have begun casting votes in a referendum that may lead to a loosening of the country’s strict ban on most abortions.

The referendum Friday will decide whether the eighth amendment of the constitution is repealed, which would open the way for more liberal legislation.

READ MORE: What you need to know about Ireland’s bitterly-debated abortion vote

The amendment, in place since 1983, requires authorities to equally protect the right to life of a mother and that of a fetus, from the moment of conception.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar tweeted his support for the bill before a moratorium on campaigning took effect Thursday. He urged people to vote “yes” in favour of repeal.

Results are not expected until Saturday afternoon or evening. Voting has already taken place on Ireland’s offshore islands so that paper ballots can be taken to the mainland and counted in time.

There was good weather Friday morning in the capital, Dublin, and much of the country, a factor that could help the “yes” forces in favour of repeal get the heavy turnout they seek.

“Yes” campaigners were handing out stickers at several major pedestrian crossroads Friday morning. Many people voted on their way to work and sported “I voted” buttons.

They didn’t sway Vera Rooney, who voted in favour of keeping the ban in place.

“It is a hard decision but I just feel I don’t have the right to take life. I think life is sacred and for that reason I had to vote no,” said Rooney, who voted early Friday at the North Grand Church polling station in Dublin.

READ MORE: Irish in Canada are flying #HomeToVote in Ireland’s abortion referendum

Graffiti saying “Trust Women” by “yes” backers was scrawled on the pavement outside the polling station in Dublin as voting opened. An opponent of the abortion clause repeal wrote: “Mama, save me, I love you.”

Letters to the editor published Friday in the Irish Independent newspaper contained emotional arguments urging voters to reject the repeal movement.

“If we vote ‘yes’, every unborn, wanted and unwanted, will have zero rights,” wrote one woman. “I do not believe the smart people of Ireland want this unrestricted, abortion-on-demand bill. I will be voting no.”

If citizens vote in favour of repeal, new abortion laws will then be discussed in parliament. The government proposes that terminations be allowed during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. Later abortions would be allowed in special cases.
Irish citizens vote in a referendum on the proposed Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution Bill 2018 to repeal the 1983 Eighth Amendment constitutional ban on abortion by 66.4% to 33.6%.