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.
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 and become 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 fetus would be admissible as evidence of rape in the courts.
Hearing that X planned to have an abortion, the Attorney-General, Harry Whelehan sought an injunction under Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution of Ireland preventing her. The injunction was granted by Justice Costello in the High 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 (as opposed to her health).
X had a miscarriage shortly after the judgement before an abortion could be carried out.
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:
- 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.
