On September 7, 1983, the people of Ireland by a majority of 57 per cent voted in a notional referendum to amend the constitution to guarantee the right to life of unborn babies.

Banned

The amendment banned abortion, abolished the right of the government to pass laws authorizing abortion, and took away the power of the courts to rule in favour of abortion in any case that might come before them.

In June 1985, the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) took legal action against two agencies which were openly sending women to England for abortions.  The case was tried in October 1986, before Mr. Justice Hamilton in the High Court.

On December 19, 1986, the High Court ruled that abortion referral is unconstitutional.  Injunctions were imposed against the two agencies, Openline Counselling and Dublin Well Woman Centre.

Permanent injunction

The two agencies appealed to the Supreme Court on March 16, 1988.  All five judges ruled that the lower court was correct.  It made the injunction against the agencies permanent, and stated clearly that the agencies were forbidden to supply the names and addresses of abortion ‘clinics’, or to provide any means of communication with any abortion ‘clinic’.

In June 1988, the Students’ Union at University College, Dublin, declared that it would print the names, addresses and telephone numbers of British abortion clinics in their Student Handbook.

SPUC/Ireland sought an injunction to prevent the publication.

On September 7, 1988 the case was heard in the High Court before Miss Justice Carroll, who ruled that SPUC “did not have the standing to take the case to Court.”

SPUC appealed to the Supreme Court.

Student Unions

After many delays, the appeal was heard on July 28, 1989.  The Supreme Court ruled in a 4-1 decision that SPUC had the necessary standing and referred the case back to the High Court.  By this time, however, the Students’ Union had already published the information the injunction had sought to prevent, and the Student Union at Trinity College, Dublin, had done likewise.

On October 11, 1989, SPCU proceeded against the Students Unions of both colleges.  The case was again heard before Miss Justice Carroll.  She refused to issue an injunction and referred the case to the European Court of Justice in the Hague for a decision as to whether there was a right to information in regard to a “service which was available” in the other member countries of the European Community.

SPCU again appealed to the Supreme Court and on December 9, 1988,  the Supreme Court overturned Justice Carroll’s ruling and imposed an injunction against the Student Unions.  (By this time the Student Union of Ireland had also become involved.)

As to the referral to the European Court, the Supreme Court could do nothing to prevent it from hearing the case.  However, the Court made it abundantly clear that it considers the Irish Constitution to be the final authority on such matters in Ireland, and stated that regardless of what the European Court decides, the Supreme Court can review the outcome and issue its own decision afterwards.

The case went before the European Court on March 6, 1991.