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“It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity,” says Ruairi Sparks, a 31-year-old TV producer who lives in Peckham. Like many of his fellow London-based Irish expats, Sparks is making the journey home to vote in Friday’s referendum on abortion.

"I didn’t realise I was registered to vote until Monday when my mother received my polling card," Sparks explains. When he was told he could cast his ballot in the referendum, he immediately made plans to travel to Dublin.

“Ireland’s been exporting this problem for 30-odd years, and it makes things very, very difficult for women. It’s out of control. If there’s an opportunity to repeal it, I’ll be damned if I’m going to stay in London and not vote.”

Sparks is referring to the tight restrictions on the rights of women to terminate pregnancies in Ireland, in part due to the enduring legacy of the Catholic Church.

Since 1983, the Eighth Amendment of the Irish Constitution has afforded the same right to life to women and their unborn children. Abortion is therefore illegal in Ireland in almost all cases, including rape, unless the life of the mother is deemed to be at risk, including from suicide.

Since 1992, when another amendment giving women the right to travel abroad for abortions was passed, an estimated 170,000 have done so.

But on Friday, Irish voters head to the polls to have their say on whether the Eighth Amendment should be repealed in order to allow politicians to set abortion laws in the future - paving the way for legalisation. Ireland’s Prime Minister, Leo Varadkar, has backed liberalisation of the laws and has campaigned for a ‘yes’ vote in the referendum to repeal the amendment.

And while the ‘yes’ side has enjoyed a consistent lead in the polls, the nerves are palpable. Niamh Cavanagh, a 24-year-old journalist who is travelling from Clapham to vote in Tipperary, says she is "not at all" confident of a win for the pro-choice campaign.

“The people I have online are my friends and people I know, and they tend to be pro-choice,” she says. “But there’s a lot of people in Ireland that have been raised by the Catholic Church to be very much pro-life. I just feel like there will be more pro-life support. I could be wrong - I hope to God it passes.”

When the referendum was announced in March, Cavanagh was in no doubt that she would make the trip home.

"There’s been discussions for years about how women have to travel abroad for abortions, so when the action came to legalise it, no matter where I was in the world, I was always going to travel home to vote."

For others, it’s a simple matter of safety. A tragic catalyst for the debate on liberalising abortion laws was the death of Indian dentist, Savita Halappanavar, in Galway in 2012.

Aged just 31, she was refused an abortion during a miscarriage, despite repeatedly asking for a termination, because a foetal heartbeat could be detected. She died in hospital.

Other campaigners argue that abortion is taking place anyway in a way which Varadkar describes as “unsafe, unregulated and unlawful”.

Jane White, 32, who is travelling from Islington to Dublin to vote, said: "My personal view is it’s about safety. Abortions are happening in Ireland illegally, and they are really a traumatic experience so it’s really about having safe abortions, and doing it in a safe environment.

"Safe treatments are not available for people who are unable to travel, and that’s not what Ireland’s about."

She added that she had been surprised at how few Londoners were aware of Ireland's restrictive abortion laws.

"It’s interesting to see how many people in London weren't even aware of the situation in Ireland - they’re a bit behind the expectations as a country.”

The campaign has been an unpleasant one for many in Ireland, with posters showing graphic post-abortion scenes on the streets of Dublin, erected by the No camp. The country is used to major referendums - most recently on the right of same-sex couples to marry, which passed in 2015. But for many, this one has felt different.

“It’s the first time in my life I’ve seen a vote in Ireland like this,” said Cavanagh. “The same-sex marriage referendum was such a positive thing, but when you get down to this, it’s very sensitive and extremely emotional. For a lot of women, it’s bringing up a range of experiences they’ve had.

“I feel like a lot of people are really heartbroken. It’s causing a lot of stress to a lot of people.”

But it is not only those on the ‘yes’ side who are making the trip from London to vote. Campaign group London Irish United for Life has been leading the drive to encourage Irish people in the capital to go home to vote no.

The pro-life group, set up by Irish emigrants, believes the Eighth Amendment "protects the right to life of the unborn whilst allowing all life-saving treatment for pregnant women", and claims it protects people with disabilities.

It argues that there are "better solutions than abortion", suggesting that it is better to invest in "positive support" for women and hospice care for babies with life-limiting conditions.

Under the hashtag #HometoVoteNo, the group has been targeting potential pro-life voters in London, online and in person, with their message "Protect Ireland's Eighth Amendment".

Campaigner Suzanne Conway, 32, who has been at the forefront of this campaign, believes keeping the Eighth is about safeguarding a human right.

Conway has been working with the group to distribute leaflets, speak to people about returning home to vote and attending rallies, such as the recent 'March for Life UK' event, according to The Irish Times.

Now, she has flown from London to Ireland to vote herself. She told The Irish Independent she has done so because "there is an obvious right to life before before birth".

"I will be voting No because I believe that there is an obvious right to life before birth and the Eighth Amendment is simply the only protection that is safeguarding this right," she said.

"If the Eighth Amendment were to be repealed, the protection for babies in the womb would then be removed."

She added that a No vote may also mean an opportunity to discuss how Ireland can implement better support systems for pregnant women and those facing crisis pregnancies and for babies with life-limiting conditions.

"Leaving abortion aside as a ‘solution’ to these situations will place Ireland in a unique position, in which we can demonstrate authentic compassion, solidarity and proper social progress," she said.

As part of its drive online to promote a No vote, London Irish United for Life has also been sharing footage of pro-life supporters explaining why they are heading back to Ireland to vote.

In one clip, Eoin, a student from County Clare, said he is going home to vote no because "life starts at conception".

"Nobody has the right to take that away and I don't want anyone else to make that decision for me," he said.

In another, a woman, who was not named, said she thinks women "deserve better than abortions".

"I think women deserve better than being pitted against their babies," she said. "I think babies deserve the right to life, they deserve protection just as anybody else does and I don't believe that this is the best thing for women."

For the 'no' side, the referendum is about protecting "something that we should be proud of", Conways tells the Independent.

Meanwhile, those on the ‘yes’ side will be hoping Friday’s vote will give them something to cheer about on their long journeys home.

“It’s a huge question, and one that’s divided Ireland for 30 years or so,” Sparks says. “There are very entrenched views, but I’m really, really hopeful that we can get this thing passed and they can stop using our constitution to control women’s bodies.”