Attorney General v. X or the X Case was a 1992 Irish Supreme Court case which established the right of Irish women to an abortion if their life was at risk because of pregnancy. 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... The Supreme Court (Irish: Chúirt Uachtarach) is the highest judicial authority in the Republic of Ireland. ...

The case involved a 14-year-old girl (named only as X in the courts and the media to protect her identity) who had been raped by a neighbour and became pregnant. X told her mother of suicidal thoughts because of the unwanted pregnancy, and as abortion was illegal in Ireland, the family travelled to England for an abortion. Before the abortion was carried out, the family asked the Garda Síochána if DNA from the aborted foetus would be admissible as evidence in the courts, as the neighbour was denying responsibility. A pregnant woman Pregnancy is the process by which a mammalian female carries a live offspring from conception until it develops to the point where the offspring is capable of living outside the womb. ... Suicide (from Latin sui caedere, to kill oneself) is the act of willfully ending ones own life. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... Garda Síochána na hÉireann (Irish for The Peace Guard of Ireland; pronounced ) is the sole police force of the Republic of Ireland. ... Foetus can refer to: a fetus, an embryo in later stages of development Foetus, a band fronted by industrial music pioneer J.G. Thirlwell. ...

Hearing that X planned to have an abortion, the Attorney-General, Harold Whelehan SC sought an injunction under Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution of Ireland preventing her. The injunction was granted by Mr Justice Costello in the High Court. The Attorney General (Irish: An Ard-Aighne) is the official adviser to the Irish Government in matters of law. ... An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that either prohibits or compels (restrains or enjoins) a party from continuing a particular activity. ... The Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, the founding legal document of the Republic of Ireland, introduced the controversial constitutional ban on abortion. ... The Constitution of Ireland is the founding legal document of the state known today as the Republic of Ireland. ... Declan Costello (born August 1, 1926) was an Irish politician from the Fine Gael Party, who served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for twenty years and as Attoney-General for four. ... The High Court of the Republic of Ireland is a court which deals at first instance with the most serious and important civil and criminal cases, and also acts as a court of appeal for civil cases in the Circuit Court. ...

The High Court injunction was appealed to the Supreme Court, which overturned it by a majority of three to two. The majority opinion held that a woman had a right to an abortion under Article 40.3.3 if there was "a real and substantial risk" to her life. This right did not exist if there was a risk to her health but not her life; however it did exist if the risk was the possibiity of suicide.

X had a miscarriage shortly after the judgement before an abortion could be carried out. Miscarriage or spontaneous abortion is the natural or accidental termination of a pregnancy at a stage where the embryo or the fetus is incapable of surviving, generally defined at a gestation of prior to 20 weeks. ...

The case resulted in no fewer than three proposed constitutional amendments on the issue of abortion, referendums for which were held on 25 November 1992: An amendment may be made to any part of Bunreacht na hÉireann, the constitution of the Republic of Ireland, but only by referendum. ... November 25 is the 329th (in leap years the 330th) day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ...

• Twelfth Amendment — the so-called substantive issue. Proposed that the prohibition on abortions would apply even in cases where the mother was suicidal
• Thirteenth Amendment — specified that the prohibition on abortion would not limit the freedom of pregnant women to travel out of the country
• Fourteenth Amendment — specified that the prohibition of abortion would not limit the right to distribute information about abortion services in foreign countries

The thirteenth and fourteenth amendments were ratified but the twelfth was rejected. The Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland specifies that the prohibition of abortion would not limit freedom of travel from Ireland to other countries where a person might legally obtain an abortion. ... The Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland, the founding legal document of the Republic of Ireland was passed on December 23, 1992. ...

See also

• Censorship in the Republic of Ireland#Formerly censored topics

Although the Republic of Ireland does not currently exercise much censorship in practice, the state has wide-ranging laws which allow censorship, and has specific laws covering films, advertisements, newspapers and magazines, as well as terrorism and pornography. ...

External link

• A.G. v. X (1992) IESC 1; (1992) 1 IR 1 (5th March, 1992) — text of the Supreme Court judgement overturning the injunction — from the British and Irish Legal Information Institute (BAILII): Supreme Court of Ireland Decisions