Summary

Summary

For decades, Irish women like Amanda Mellet and Siobhán Whelan were forced to travel to other countries for abortion care.

At the time, Ireland had one of the world’s strictest abortion laws: a constitutional ban criminalizing abortion in almost all circumstances, except when a woman’s life was at risk.

Both Mellet and Whelan had pregnancies involving a fatal fetal impairment–their fetuses would die before or shortly after birth.But they still couldn’t get care in their own country,worsening their sense of shame and stigma.

In these two cases, filed on behalf of Mellet and Whelan, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Committee agreed with the Center for Reproductive Rights that Ireland’s abortion ban subjected women to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. It instructed Ireland to legalize abortion and ensure access to abortion care.

In a 2018 constitutional referendum, the Irish people voted by a resounding majority to legalize abortion—officially lifting the ban.

About the cases

About the cases

The Center filed these two cases in 2013 and 2014 with the UN Human Rights Committee. It argued that Ireland’s abortion ban violated Mellet’s and Whelan’s rights, under an international treaty called the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).

In its 2016 and 2017 rulings, the Committee agreed that criminalizing and banning abortion violates international human rights law. It was the first time an international legal authority condemned a state’s abortion ban in response to an individual complaint.

The Committee found that Ireland’s ban violated these rights under the ICCPR:

• The right to freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (ICCPR article 7).
• The right to privacy (article 17).
• The right to equality before the law (article 26).

It instructed Ireland to:

• Pay reparations for the women’s suffering, including rehabilitation costs.
• Prevent further violations by legalizing abortion and making sure it is accessible.

After the rulings, the Irish Minister for Health formally apologized to Mellet and Whelan for the suffering they endured.

About the rulings

About the rulings

These two rulings helped pave the way to legalize abortion care in Ireland.

In 2017, a joint parliamentary committee issued a report citing the two rulings among the reasons Ireland’s abortion law must be reformed.

Then, in a 2018 constitutional referendum, the Irish people overwhelmingly voted to remove the constitution’s abortion ban and legalize abortion care in Ireland. After the referendum, Irish lawmakers were finally able to reform Ireland’s abortion law.

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