A protester in Dublin displays his sentiments on the proposed legal changes, which would deny abortions even to suicidal women.
DUBLIN, Ireland - Ireland's electorate faced a barrage of last-minute appeals Tuesday as a referendum loomed on outlawing the threat of suicide as grounds for an abortion.
The proposed constitutional amendment, if approved in today's vote, would overturn a decade-old Supreme Court ruling that abortions could be granted to suicidal women. It would also permit abortions in cases where continued pregnancy could kill a woman.
Such exceptions are a delicate subject in predominantly Catholic Ireland, where abortion is banned by the constitution but until now, no specific penalties have been laid down. No one has ever faced criminal charges for having an abortion.
Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and leaders of the Catholic Church appealed for voters to approve the amendment, insisting that some women would falsely threaten suicide to obtain abortions if the court's judgment were upheld.
"I do not want to see a pro-choice, liberal abortion regime in this country," Ahern told reporters Tuesday. "This is an honest, clear pro-life proposal."
The referendum result is expected Thursday afternoon. A series of opinion polls has indicated a dead heat between the "yes" and "no" camps, with voter confusion running high.
Abortion rights activists have been urging rejection on the grounds that Ireland needs more liberal access to the practice, rather than obliging an estimated 7,000 women per year to travel to neighboring England, where abortion has been legal since 1967.
The measure would make it a crime punishable by up to 14 years in prison for anyone to seek an abortion in Ireland for any reason other than medical necessity.
Every opposition party is campaigning against the amendment. They and leading Irish newspapers support the Supreme Court's 1992 verdict, which found that a 14-year-old girl raped by a family friend should be entitled to an abortion because she was at risk of killing herself otherwise.
Citing that precedent, in 1997 another Irish court allowed a 13-year-old girl who was raped, suicidal and in the state's care to travel to England for an abortion.
"The test is what would people want for their own families," the Irish Times newspaper said in its Tuesday editorial. "If they can contemplate circumstances in which (abortion) might have to be an option - in case of rape or serious illness or a threat of suicide - then they must find the proposal wanting and vote no."
Some pro-life groups are also campaigning against the amendment, saying it isn't tough enough. They want a stronger ban against the morning-after pill and possible use of embryos in medical research.