In a stunning turn of events yesterday the voters of Ireland voted to repeal the 8th Amendment of their Constitution. What is the 8th Amendment to the Irish constitution, and frankly why should Americans care?? Well, if you are a supporter of pro-life causes-you should care deeply. The 8th Amendment to the Irish constitution gives equal right to life to both mother and unborn child which effectively renders abortion illegal in most cases. The legislation was written and passed in 1983 after a previous referendum on the issue. Among the supporters of the 8th Amendment is the Catholic church which maintains a strong presence in the country. The 8th Amendment created a situation where many women had to leave the country to terminate their pregnancies. In 1992 women in Ireland were officially given the right to do so and according to statistics over 170,000 have done just that since then.