DUBLIN, : The Irish Parliament's rejection of Mick Wallace's abortion bill has been welcomed by pro-life and parents' support groups.
Mr Wallace's bill was roundly defeated by 95 votes to 45, even though it had the support of several ministers. The bill sought to permit abortions in situations where a mother is given a diagnosis that an unborn child has a life-limiting condition.
Patrick Buckley, Ireland officer of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) said:"The Wallace bill was opportunistic. It was presented on so-called compassionate grounds, but it ignored the hundreds of women who decide to give life a chance and allow their babies to live as long as they possibly can. It is very hurtful to such women to describe their babies as 'non-viable' and 'incompatible with life'.
"We welcome the fact that Fine Gael and the vast majority of the Fianna Fáil deputies voted against the bill. We are disturbed, however, that Sinn Fein and some minor parties voted against the right to life for all Irish citizens," added Mr Buckley.
The Wallace bill was a re-run of Clare Daly TD's defeated bill, which had been declared unconstitutional by Ireland’s Attorney-General.
The bill's rejection was also welcomed by organisations such as One Day More and Every Life Counts which support parents who have been given a distressing diagnosis about their unborn babies. Cliona Johnson of One Day More, whose baby John Paul was diagnosed at 20 weeks as suffering from anencephaly and as such had a limited life span, told George Hook of Newstalk Radio that the term 'fatal fetal abnormality' is not a medical diagnosis and that some members of their organisation who were given a similar diagnosis subsequently had healthy babies.
For further comments or to request an interview, please contact Patrick Buckley on:
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