In January 2018, Martin stated that he would support a relaxation of Ireland's abortion stance, citing “cruel inflexibility and unintended consequences”. Specifically, he said "he would vote in favour of repealing the Eighth Amendment and to allow abortion on request until near the end of the first trimester," leading to some political conflict within Fianna Fáil. 31 of the party's TDs and Senators posed for a photograph showing their opposition to repealing the eighth amendment, with over half of the parliamentary party supporting a No vote.