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The Irish Prime Minister has hailed a move to pass legislation allowing abortions in the Republic of Ireland for the first time as a “historic moment” for women.

A bill to legalise abortions passed through all its parliamentary stages on Thursday evening after a marathon debate.

It comes after 66 per cent of people voted for change at a referendum in May.

Prime Minister Leo Varadkar tweeted his support for the Bill, and thanked health minister Simon Harris for “steering this through both houses.”

The new legislation legalises terminations up to 12 weeks, or where there is a risk of serious harm or death to the pregnant woman.

After 12 weeks abortions will be permitted in exceptional circumstances.

The legislation will give effect to the result of a referendum in May.

The poll delivered landslide support for the repeal of a section of the state's constitution - the Eight Amendment - that provided the legal basis for the country's near blanket ban on abortion.

Some 170,000 Irish women have been forced to travel to Britain for abortions since 1980.

The new law makes Malta the only European Union country to still totally ban abortion.

Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland, Colm O’Gorman, said: “We welcome the passage of this bill, and fully appreciate the importance of its enactment by year’s end so that abortion services can begin in January.

“Women have waited 35 years for this, the daily violations of their human rights must come to an end.

“However, we and the government want to avoid a situation where the law prevents pregnant people from accessing the healthcare they need, or delaying their care.

“The new abortion legislation will ensure that most women will be able to access services in Ireland and this is a major step forward.”

But the organisation voiced concerned that there are still “barriers to women accessing timely care” and that there are some “significant flaws” in the Bill.

They warned that there is a “potentially high and ambiguous threshold” around the phrase “serious harm”, and that there are gaps in the Bill’s provisions.