Same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland but not in Northern Ireland. Legislation to allow for the recognition of same-sex marriages in Northern Ireland has been debated in the Northern Ireland Assembly five times since 2012. On the first four of those occasions, only a minority of assembly members voted in favour of same-sex marriage, though the most recent vote on the issue in November 2015 saw a majority of MLAs vote in favour of same-sex marriage. On 1 October 2012, the first Northern Ireland Assembly motion regarding same-sex marriage was introduced by Sinn Féin and the Greens. The motion was defeated 50-45. On 29 April 2013,
Contraception in the Republic of Ireland Contraception in the Republic of Ireland Contraception was illegal in Ireland from 1935 until 1980, when it was legalised with strong restrictions, later loosened. The ban reflected Catholic teachings on sexual morality. The encyclical "Casti connubii" (1930) followed the industrial production and widespread use of condoms that usually prevent fertilisation. It specified: Following the marketing of "the pill" in the 1960s, a Pontifical Commission on Birth Control was set up. It has often been cited that there was a majority in favour of contraception, and that is implied in the wording of the papal encyclical.. The encyclical "Humanae vitae" (1968)