Irish Voters Overwhelmingly Reject Constitutional Change on Family and Women

The Irish government has suffered resounding defeats in two referenda aimed at changing the Irish Constitution to widen the definition of family and to change a provision about women’s role within the family. Turnout for the referenda, held on Friday, was 44.36 percent, a significant drop from the abortion referendum in 2018 which saw a turnout of 64 percent. All major parties have supported the proposed constitutional changes, but 67.69 percent voted against the widening of the definition of family, and 73.93 percent rejected the proposal to remove the protection of mothers from the necessity to work. The coalition government conceded defeat on Saturday before all ballots were counted, with Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar saying it was “clear” that the referenda had been “defeated comprehensively on a respectable turnout.”...