In a referendum held in Ireland on Friday, residents rejected the reform aimed at modernizing references to women and the family in the Constitution, written in 1937 and heir to the long and strong influence of the Catholic Church on life public and private. “I think it is clear at this stage that the amendments (…) have been rejected,” said Prime Minister Leo Varadkar. “It was our responsibility to convince a majority of people to vote 'yes' and we failed to do so,” he added, while the results of the referendum have not yet been officially published.
A symbolic blow for women, and contrary to the main parties which had defended the "yes", Irish voters thus disapproved a modification of the Constitution which notably intended to broaden the concept of family beyond the notion of marriage, and erasing the priority role of mothers in carrying out “domestic duties” in a home. But this referendum aroused little enthusiasm, with participation not exceeding 50% in most of the 39 constituencies, according to estimates published by the Irish media.
Before the Prime Minister's speech, several other members of the government had already conceded defeat, the Minister for Equality, Roderic O'Gorman, quoted by the daily The Irish Times, saying he was disappointed and regretted that people “failed to see the urgency for change” in the Constitution. “The people have spoken. He has made his voice heard and must be heard. The government’s proposals have failed,” responded Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald.
Before the vote, Prime Minister Leo Varadkar estimated that a “no” victory would take the country “a step backwards”. “It would send a message to many people that they are not a family under our Constitution,” he said, while maintaining “the very old-fashioned language about women in the home, and the duties of mothers in the home.” within the home.”
“No one knows what a ‘lasting relationship’ is.”
Ireland, a European Union country with 5.3 million inhabitants, legalized marriage for same-sex couples in 2015, and abortion in 2018. The government was counting on this double referendum, organized on 8 March, International Women's Rights Day, and at a time when France ratified the inclusion of the right to abortion in its own Constitution, to further erase the mark left by the Catholic Church in institutions and life social and private.
Until a few days before the election, polls predicted a fairly easy “yes” victory, but the latest polls had revealed growing uncertainty. Voters had to decide on two questions. The first concerned the definition of family, proposing to broaden it to also include “long-term relationships” such as cohabiting couples and their children. The second question proposed erasing a reference deemed outdated on the role of women in the home, which suggests that they have a duty to take care of other people under their roof. A new, broader formula would make all members of a family responsible for caring for each other.
Opponents of these changes had criticized vague wording, particularly on the second question, and the disappearance of the words “woman” and “mother” from the text. “No one knows exactly what a ‘long-term relationship’ is, while everyone knows exactly what a marriage is,” criticized David Quinn, founder of the Iona Institute, a group defending the interests of Catholic community. Activists for the rights of disabled people also accused the text of disempowering the State in terms of taking care of these people.
