Irish Parliament Debates Bill to Ease Contraceptive Law
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DUBLIN — Parliament is debating a bill that would permit anyone over 18 to buy contraceptives, a proposal that has brought threats to Cabinet ministers and an archbishop’s warning of the “moral decline” of the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic nation.
Until 1979, the sale of all contraceptives was illegal in Ireland, where 97% of the population is Catholic. The church forbids its members to use artificial birth control. The measure that was taken up for debate would amend the 1979 law that legalized the sale of contraceptives to married couples but only with a doctor’s prescription.
The government-supported measure would let anyone over 18 purchase contraceptives.
Divorce is banned under Ireland’s constitution, and Ireland is one of the few countries where children born out of wedlock are denied full legal standing.
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