Image – Shutterstock: Leinster House in Dublin, seat of the Irish Parliament
Ireland came within a single vote of a dramatic further expansion of abortion law this week, as a People Before Profit Private Members’ Bill that would have decriminalised abortion and removed key safeguards was defeated in the Dáil by the narrowest of margins. The proposal fell by just one vote, a result that has sent shockwaves through pro-life circles and underlined how fragile the current legal settlement has become.
The Bill, formally titled the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) (Amendment) Bill 2023, sought to abolish the three-day waiting period promised to voters during the 2018 referendum, allow abortion on request up to viability, expand abortion grounds for unborn children diagnosed with life-limiting conditions without a gestational limit, and fully decriminalise the provision of abortion. Critics warned that the legislation amounted to abortion on demand to six months, and in practice up to birth.
The vote itself was dramatic. An initial electronic ballot saw the motion to restore the Bill to the order paper defeated by 72 votes to 70. People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy then demanded a roll-call vote, pleading with colleagues to “look at their consciences”. Two additional votes were cast, resulting in a final tally of 73 against and 71 in favour. In other words, Ireland avoided a sweeping liberalisation of abortion law by the slimmest possible margin.
The closeness of the vote prompted intense efforts behind the scenes, with rumours that the leaders of the pro-life campaign went to extreme measures to make sure that every possible opposing vote was present, including offering lifts to ill TDs so that they could attend the Dáil and cast their vote. Without that effort, the outcome could easily have gone the other way.
What has particularly angered pro-life advocates is the role played by senior Government figures. Although the vote was technically a free one, Fine Gael Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill and Minister for Defence Helen McEntee voted in favour of restoring the Bill, as did Fianna Fáil Minister for Public Expenditure Jack Chambers, despite his having voted No in the 2018 referendum. Sinn Féin TDs present also supported the proposal, alongside Labour, the Social Democrats, and a number of Independents.
Pro-life groups say this represents a clear breach of trust with the electorate. The three-day waiting period, in particular, was repeatedly presented in 2018 as a safeguard that would remain. Its proposed removal, alongside full decriminalisation, goes far beyond what many voters believed they were endorsing.
The irony of events later that same night was not lost on observers. Immediately after the abortion vote, People Before Profit brought forward another Private Members’ Bill, this time seeking to outlaw fox hunting. That proposal also failed. The contrast between the party’s fervent advocacy for animal welfare and its push to decriminalise abortion up to birth has been seized upon by critics as emblematic of a deeper moral incoherence.
Speaking on that cognitive dissonance, Aontú’s sole Senator, Sarah Reilly, said, “We have seen activists outside of Leinster House with placards and images denouncing fox hunting. Their arguments are rooted in empathy for these defenceless creatures. Where is that same empathy for the child in the womb?”
That both controversial measures originated from the same party has sharpened the sense of unease. For many, the events of the night exposed how radical the agenda of People Before Profit has become, and how close it came to reshaping Irish abortion law once again.
SPUC’s CEO, John Deighan, says, “Whilst we congratulate Peadar Tóibín and other pro-life trailblazers in the Irish parliament on this refreshing victory, the fact that such a far-reaching proposal was defeated by just one vote should serve as a wake-up call. The people of Ireland were clearly misled in being told that the safeguards presented to them in 2018 referendum were untouchable. However much the proponents of this evil bill want to present it as progressive, we know that abortion decriminalisation means abortion up-to-birth. We’re glad that today was a win for Irish babies, but they deserve better than such a perilously thin result.”
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