The Irish government has agreed on the wording of the abortion referendum due to take place in late May.

The public will be able to vote on whether they want to repeal article 40.3.3, otherwise known as the eighth amendment, The Guardian reports. The eighth amendment states that an unborn foetus and a pregnant woman have an equal right to life, effectively banning abortion in all but the most extreme circumstances.

At a cabinet meeting on International Women’s Day, the government also confirmed what abortion regulations will replace the eighth amendment if it is repealed. The Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) Leo Varadkar said that in the event of a repeal vote, legislation will be introduced allowing unrestricted abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy.

Ireland currently has some of the most draconian abortion laws in Europe, with terminations banned even in cases of rape, incest, if the mother’s health is at risk, or the foetus has fatal abnormalities. Under the eighth amendment - which was introduced in 1983, a time when contraception was also illegal in Ireland - abortions are only permitted if a pregnant woman is at risk of dying as a direct result of her pregnancy.

In addition, women can be jailed for up to 14 years for taking abortion pills ordered online. The UN Human Rights Committee said in 2016 that it considered Ireland’s current abortion laws to be “cruel, inhuman and degrading”.

Irish government approves abortion referendum bill