A woman carries a baby in a cot as goes to cast her vote at a polling station in the referendum on the 8th Amendment of the Irish Constitution, in Dublin, Friday, May 25, 2018. Voters throughout Ireland have begun casting votes in a referendum that may lead to a loosening of the country's strict ban on most abortions. (Niall Carson/PA via AP)
The Associated Press
DUBLIN (AP) - The Latest on the abortion referendum in Ireland (all times local):
2 p.m.
Supporters of liberalizing Ireland's strict abortion ban have given an ecstatic welcome to the Irish people abroad who have travelled home to vote in the country's historic referendum on abortion.
Several activists gathered at Dublin Airport's arrivals hall, holding a large "Welcome Home" banner. Others held a placard reading "Thank you for making the journey so other women don't have to."
One female traveller was seen dancing in joy as she arrived, as the activists whooped and cheered.
Thousands of Irish people have been returning home to take part in Friday's referendum on whether to repeal the country's constitutional ban on almost all abortions. Voters have used the hashtag #Hometovote on social media.
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12:40 p.m.
A plane carrying Irish voters trying to return home to vote in the abortion referendum has collided with another plane on a taxiway at a London-area airport, delaying passengers but causing no injuries.
Ryanair says the winglet of a Primera plane traveling flight to Malaga clipped the tail of a stationary Dublin-bound Ryanair passenger plane at Stansted Airport, northeast of London.
The airport described the 9.15 a.m. incident on Friday as being "minor."
Thousands of Irish citizens have been returning home to vote in a referendum on whether to liberalize abortion laws. Voters, who have come from as far away as Australia, have been chronicling their journeys under the hashtag #Hometovote on social media.
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7:30 a.m.
Voters throughout Ireland have begun casting votes in a referendum that may lead to a loosening of the country's strict ban on most abortions.
The referendum Friday will decide whether the eighth amendment of the constitution is repealed, which would open the way for more liberal legislation.
The amendment, in place since 1983, requires authorities to equally protect the right to life of a mother and that of a fetus, from the moment of conception.
Prime Minister Leo Varadkar tweeted his support for the bill before a moratorium on campaigning took effect Thursday. He urged people to vote "yes" in favor of repeal.
Results are not expected until Saturday afternoon or evening.
Voting has already taken place on Ireland's offshore islands.
A woman holding a baby casts her vote at a polling station as the country goes to the polls to vote in the referendum on the 8th Amendment of the Irish Constitution, in Dublin, Friday, May 25, 2018. Voters throughout Ireland have begun casting votes in a referendum that may lead to a loosening of the country's strict ban on most abortions. (Niall Carson/PA via AP)
The Associated Press
Presiding officer Carmel McBride looks on as a woman casts her vote in the referendum on the 8th Amendment of the Irish Constitution, on Thursday May 24, 2018, a day early for the people that live off the coast of Donegal on the island of Inishbofin, Ireland. The referendum on whether to repeal the country's strict anti-abortion law is being seen by anti-abortion activists as a last-ditch stand against what they view as a European norm of abortion-on-demand, while for pro-abortion rights advocates, it is a fundamental moment for declaring an Irish woman's right to choose. (Clodagh Kilcoyne/PA via AP)
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Election warehouse manager Michael Leonard checks the seals on the ballot boxes in Dublin, Thursday May 24, 2018, ready to be delivered to polling stations for Friday's referendum on the 8th Amendment of the Irish Constitution. (Niall Carson/PA via AP)
The Associated Press
In this May 17, 2018 photo, pro and against posters are displayed on a lamppost in Dublin, Ireland ahead of the abortion referendum on Friday, May 25.. An abortion debate that has inflamed passions in Ireland for decades will come down to a single question on Friday: yes or no? The referendum on whether to repeal the country's strict anti-abortion law is being seen by anti-abortion activists as a last-ditch stand against what they view as a European norm of abortion-on-demand, while for pro-abortion rights advocates, it is a fundamental moment for declaring an Irish woman's right to choose. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
The Associated Press
In this May 17, 2018 photo, a woman walks past a "Yes" campaign logo on a shop window in Dublin, Ireland, ahead of the abortion referendum on Friday, May 25. An abortion debate that has inflamed passions in Ireland for decades will come down to a single question on Friday: yes or no? The referendum on whether to repeal the country's strict anti-abortion law is being seen by anti-abortion activists as a last-ditch stand against what they view as a European norm of abortion-on-demand, while for pro-abortion rights advocates, it is a fundamental moment for declaring an Irish woman's right to choose. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison)
The Associated Press