Ed Sheeran has issued a statement asserting that he has not given permission for his song ‘Small Bump’ to be used by anti-abortion campaigners in the upcoming Irish referendum on the subject.

The song, which was included on his first studio album + back in 2011 and released as a single the following year, was reportedly being played by activists plugging the pro-life campaign in Dublin’s city centre over the weekend, just a week away from the referendum on the Eighth Amendment to the constitution.

The track’s lyrics include lines like: “You’re just a small bump unknown, you’ll grow into your skin / With a smile like hers and a dimple beneath your chin / Fingernails the size of a half grain of rice, and eyelids closed to be soon opened wide / A small bump, in four months you’ll open your eyes.”

Ed SheeranEd Sheeran spoke out against the use of his song 'Small Bump' in the campaign

However, the 27 year old English pop star took to his Instagram to tell his fans that he had not given permission for ‘Small Bump’ to be used in such a way.

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“I've been informed that my song ‘Small Bump’ is being used to promote the pro-life campaign, and I feel it's important to let you know I have not given approval for this use, and it does not reflect what the song is about,” the statement read on Monday (May 21st).

Voters in Ireland are set to decide on May 25th whether the country’s abortion laws – some of the strictest in the world and which only allow for a termination if the life of the mother is in danger – ought to be repealed.

A change in the law would allow for abortions to take place up to 12 weeks of pregnancy without restriction. Currently, a woman convicted of having an illegal abortion faces up to 14 years in jail, but pregnant women are permitted to travel abroad for terminations.

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