Polling at the referendum took place on Wednesday, 25th November, 1992 between the hours of 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. Referendums on travel (Thirteenth Amendment of the Constitution Bill) and Information (Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution Bill) and a General Election also took place on the same day.
The subject matter of the referendum was described as follows in the official polling card sent to each elector:
‘WHITE BALLOT PAPER – RIGHT TO LIFE
THE TWELFTH AMENDMENT OF THE CONSTITUTION BILL, 1992, proposes to amend Article 40 of the Constitution by the addition of the text here following to subsection 3 of section 3 thereof:
“It shall be unlawful to terminate the life of an unborn unless such termination is necessary to save the life, as distinct from the health, of the mother where there is an illness or disorder of the mother giving rise to a real and substantial risk to her life, not being a risk of self-destruction.”.’
(This statement was prescribed by the Referendum (Amendment) (No. 2) Act, 1992).
The total number of votes recorded in favour of the proposal was 572,177 and the total number recorded against the proposal was 1,079,297. The proposal was not, therefore, approved by the people.
Result Summary
| Electorate: | 2,542,841 |
| Total Poll: | 1,733,309 |
| Percentage Poll: | 68.16% |
| Votes in favour of the proposal: | 572,177 |
| Votes against the proposal: | 1,079,297 |
| Invalid Ballot Papers: | 81,835 |