_WORLD WATCH______________________________
________________Ireland_______________
Referendum set on abortion issue
Pro-lifers split on government plan
Irish Prime Minister
Bertie Ahern has formally
announced plans for a national referendum on the issue of abortion.
In an October 3 address to the nation, the prime minister unveiled a legislative proposal that would make abortion legal only in cases in which a doctor determined that the pregnancy constituted an immediate threat to the life of the mother. This proposal would be the subject of a national referendum in the spring of 2002.
The purpose of the referendum campaign is to clarify Irish law regarding abortion, and close a loophole created by a controversial 1992 decision by the country’s Supreme Court. Pro-life groups in Ireland generally offered cautious support for Ahern’s proposal, while abortion advocates opposed it. But the pro-life lobby expressed serious reservations about one aspect of the legislation, which would exempt abortifacient pills from a constitutional ban on abortion.
In 1983, the Irish people approved a constitutional amendment barring all abortions. But in 1992 the Supreme Court—in the notorious “X case”—ruled that abortion must be allowed if a woman’s life is at risk. The Supreme Court specifically stated that a woman’s threat to commit suicide would constitute a reason for a legal abortion. The legislation suggested by Ahern would effectively overturn that ruling.
The prime minister pointed out that as a result of the debate over the Supreme Court ruling, and the absence of detailed legislation to enforce the abortion ban, voters see the abortion issue as “a case of unfinished business.” He called for a fair and open debate to establish a national consensus on the issue.
While cutting down on the legal openings for surgical abortion, Ahern’s proposal would offer legislative approval for the use of the “morning-after pill” and the IUD. The prime minister characterized these methods as “ethically legitimate procedures” which should not be defined as abortions. This facet of the proposed legislation caused differences of opinion among Irish pro-life advocates. Some argued that the referendum campaign deserved support because it would cut down on the number of abortion allowed each year; others contended that the legislation would undercut a crucial moral principle—and violate the intent of the constitution—by giving legal approval for some abortions.
The proposal also leaves Irish women free to travel abroad in order to procure an abortion. In his speech Ahern reported that 6,500 Irish women choose that option every year.
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