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level in quite the same way, they can still ensure the existence of to the Irish Constitution in 1992 . However, the X Case did not in
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a socially relevant and effective clinical curriculum, funding a sepa- itself shift the public opinion. More than ten years after the Su-
rate section dealing with women’s rights, with particular emphasis preme Court’s decision, the Attorney General at the time of
on issues in the field of reproductive rights, reproductive health, is- the trial, Harry Whelehan, was still openly making claims that his
sues of equal treatment and non-discrimination. Focusing on this case was constitutional, stating in a 2012: ‘The problem was stark.
feminist jurisprudence and European as well as worldwide stand- There was an unborn child with a constitutional right to life’ . His
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ards in this area, Polish legal clinics were and still might be even public assertion proves that the constitutionality of ‘the unborn
more valuable in assisting a nationwide shift of public opinion on child’s right to life, was still an ongoing subject of debate in Ireland.
abortion, which was also an essential requirement for abortion re- The popularity and relevance of this topic were reflected in the way
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form in Ireland . that many existing and forming University-led legal clinics began
Similarly, as Poland’s socio-political landscape today, the unfa- to see a rise of interest in constitutional law and related topical
vourable public opinion regarding a pro-choice stance on abortion seminars. FLAC cooperated with student law societies to organise
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in Ireland , prompted the Abortion Rights Campaign to adopt debates on the issue as well as lectures and meetings with Supreme
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an ‘unapologetic pro-choice position in public spheres’ to break Court justices and law academics. This tendency in which Uni-
down abortion stigma and implement a locally-focused, grassroot versity lead legal clinics in Ireland are imminently receptive to any
strategy of fostering ‘regional networks across the country that current, ongoing legal issues within the public discourse is another
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worked tirelessly to break the silence and secrecy about abortion’ . testament to their immediate relevance and their ability not only
These local activists organised informative meetings but were fre- to identify the most pressing social issues, but to get involved in
quently refused access to communal spaces due to the “conten- tackling them as well.
tious” nature of abortion. It is in battling those unconstitutional Ultimately, the X Case was a milestone because it both exposed
refusals, where the legal aid of relevant organisations such as the dire legal situation and caught the attention of both the public
the FLAC provided invaluable help in the fight to repeal the Eighth and international media due to the extreme nature of the facts of
Amendment . During the fight for reproductive rights, however, the case. It prompted many pro bono legal organisations such as
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FLAC and the closely related PILA have also been most ardently the PILA to include in their regular publications, which are dis-
involved in producing educationally essential legal analysis. patched to Universities across the country, news and legal analysis
Not long after the Eighth Amendment was ratified, an abundance of issues directly pertaining to the Eighth Amendment and Irish
of legal cases began to form and ushered in a new demand for legal abortion law overall. Hence, as the historic A, B and C v Ireland
aid throughout the country – ultimately revealing that the strug- case began before the European Court of Human Rights in 2009,
gle to legalize abortion in Ireland was not just a political one but the PILA reported on the 17 of December, writing: “Three women
th
a legal one as well. One such case from 1992, commonly referred known as A, B and C, have brought the Irish State to the Euro-
to as the X Case, concerned the circumstance of a 14-year-old girl pean Court of Human Rights alleging that their inability to get
who had been raped and was prohibited by the Irish High Court an abortion in Ireland jeopardised their health and violated their
from traveling out of the country to have an abortion. The Court’s human rights. They argued that ‘Ireland’s prohibition on abortion
referral to Article 40.3.3 of the Irish Constitution in order to jus- is so strict and inflexible that none of the applicants considered
tify its ruling against the clinically certified suicidal state of the de- feasible a legal challenge to the Constitutional and criminal law
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fendant, exposed the full legislative power of the Eighth Amend- provisions banning abortion in Ireland ”. The final judgement, in
ment. The presiding Justice Costello substantiated his judgement this case, was largely, but not completely favourable for the three
by claiming that the risk of the young girl taking her own life ‘is applicants.
much less and of a different order of magnitude than the certainty The UN Human Rights Committee, however, ordered the state
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that the life of the unborn will be terminated’ . to compensate the individual defendants and: “take steps to pre-
The appeal to this decision issued in the Irish Supreme Court vent similar violations occurring in the future”, advising that
claimed that the judge was ‘wrong in law’ when identifying the state party should “amend its law on voluntary termination
the danger to the life of the mother as less than the danger of pregnancy, including if necessary its constitution, to ensure
to the right to the life of the unborn . This legal argument which compliance with the Covenant [and] take measures to ensure that
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alluded exclusively to a legal analysis of the Constitution is what health-care providers are in a position to supply full information
made the Irish Supreme Court’s ruling to overturn the High on safe abortion services without fearing being subjected to crimi-
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Court’s decision so significant for the following legislative pro- nal sanctions”. This decision ushered in a whole wave of criticism
cesses. The final ruling affirmed the priority of the young woman’s of Ireland’s abortion laws by a plethora of international human
right to life and paved the way for abortion reform, as it made pos- rights bodies (incl. the UN Committee on Economic, Social and
sible the ratification of the thirteenth and fourteenth amendments Cultural Rights, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child,
22 The thirteenth and fourteenth amendments specified that the prohibition on
16 Anna Carnegie, Rachel Roth, ‘From the Grassroots to the Oireachtas: Abor- abortion would not limit, subsequently: the freedom of pregnant women to travel
tion Law Reform in the Republic of Ireland’ in Health and Human Rights Journal out of the state and the right to distribute information about abortion services in
(December 9, 2019). foreign countries.
17 Ibid. 23 Harry Whelehan, Scannal, RTÉ (February 2010) in ‘Whelehan ‘regrets’ hurt
18 Ibid. caused in X case’ by Lynne Kelleher, Sunday Independent <https://www.independ-
19 Ibid. ent.ie/irish-news/whelehan-regrets-hurt-caused-in-x-case-26634293.html>
20 Irish High Court ruling (February 17, 1992) in ‘Twenty years on: a timeline of (accessed 21.9.2021).
the X Case’ by Sinaed O’Carroll, thejournal.ie (February 6, 2012) <https://www. 24 Trinity College FLAC website <https://trinityflac.wordpress.com> (accessed
thejournal.ie/twenty-years-on-a-timeline-of-the-x-case-347359-Feb2012/> 23.9.2021).
(accessed 18.9.2021). 25 PILA Bulletin (17 December 2009) <https://www.flac.ie/assets/files/
21 Supreme Court of Ireland, The Attorney General (Plaintiff) v. X. and Oth- pdf/171209_pila_bulletin.pdf?issuusl=ignore> (accessed 19.9.2021).
ers (Defendant), (March 5, 1992) No. 846P <http://www.bailii.org/ie/cases/ 26 UN Human Rights Committee, Mellet v. Ireland, UN Doc. No. CCPR/
IESC/1992/1.html> (accessed 19/09/2021). C/116/D/2324/2013 (2016).

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