BREAKING: Supreme Court rules on Constitutional rights of the unborn

The Supreme Court in Limerick has ruled on the Constitutional rights of the unborn.

The landmark judgement stated that the unborn does not have inherent Constitutional rights outside the right to life in the Eight Amendment, overruling the previous of the High Court which stated that babies in the womb could have similar rights to children.

Chief Justice Frank Clarke deliver the judgement in Limerick this morning, saying it was the unanimous view of the court.

Chief Justice Frank Clarke: unborn is not a child under article 42A, high court decision reversed.#repealthe8th pic.twitter.com/Or8dJg4KpN

— Peter Reid (@peterkinvara) March 7, 2018

This latest development removes a potential stumbling block to the forthcoming Referendum.

It comes after a 10-page document seen by The Irish Times revealed how women seeking abortions will have to wait for a certain amount of time to “elapse” before the medication is administrated.

Orla O’Connor, Director of the National Women’s Council of Ireland, welcomed the ruling:

"The judgement paves the way for a referendum on the Eighth Amendment and will hopefully allow the Government to bring the referendum bill to the Dail this week. From talking to people across the country we know that people are looking for controlled change of our laws on abortion."

"They want to protect women’s health and well-being and ensure that doctors can care for their patients here in Ireland. This is only possible if we remove the Eighth Amendment from our Constitution and allow the Dail to legislate for the provision of abortion care, in line with best medical practice."

The Cabinet are due to hold a special meeting on Thursday to finalise the wording of the Referendum Bill.