On Tuesday, the 5th of December, the Irish Government announced its intention to amend the Constitution, in particular with regard to the role of women in society and family values. A referendum on the two proposed amendments to the section on family values is scheduled for International Women’s Day on the 8th of March, reports Politico.
In 1937, Irish leader Eamon de Valera, in consultation with the Catholic Church, drafted a constitution aimed at creating a country that was in line with traditional values and God’s preferred way of life.
Over the years, Ireland has gradually amended its constitution away from the conservative Catholic belief system. Amendments have included, for example, the abolition of the special status of the Catholic Church in 1973, the legalisation of divorce in 1995, the legalisation of gay marriage in 2015 and the legalisation of abortion and decriminalisation of blasphemy in 2018.
The first proposed amendment aims to replace the point that women’s role is limited to the home
with a state’s commitment to valuing the work of all family members. The second amendment aims to broaden the definition of family to include households with a “durable relationship”, which also includes couples with children born out of wedlock, thus revising the constitutional commitment to protect the principle of marriage,
Prime Minster, Leo Varadkar, stressed that the current constitution does not reflect modern Ireland and stressed that change is needed, and the Foreign Minster, Micheál Martin, acknowledged that
the proposed amendments reflect the diverse family patterns in modern Irish society.
The Irish Government has chosen not to add a new “gender equality” clause to the Constitution in order to avoid potential controversy over transgender rights, departing from the Committee’s recommendations.
Prime Minister Leo Varadkar underlined the constitution’s existing commitment to equality, pointing out that singling out certain categories could unintentionally devalue others, such as those related to disability, race or ethnicity, reports Politico.
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