"One of the most poisonous debates witnessed in twentieth century Ireland" is how historian Diarmaid Ferriter described the run-up to the passing of the 8th Amendment in 1983.

Against a backdrop of intense political division, moral outrage and conflicting understandings of how a brand new right, that of life to the unborn, would play out in public courts and private lives, the referendum passed with a two to one majority.

With the Citizens' Assembly poised to once again examine the abortion question, Ruadhán Mac Cormaic takes us back to the early eighties to understand how and why the controversial amendment came about and its legacy in politics and society.