Legislation is not abortion on demand: Kenny

Government efforts to act on abortion will not lead to “abortion on demand” or a situation where it is “a substitute for contraception”, Enda Kenny has said.

Wed, 28 Nov, 2012 - 00:00

Paul O’Brien and Mary Regan

The Coalition looks set to end a 20-year delay and legislate to give women and medical professionals clarity on when an abortion can be carried out.

However, the Taoiseach will first have to allay fears that including the risk of suicide as a ground for termination in the legislation could lead to “abortion on demand”.

One Fine Gael source said party TDs were concerned that, under such legislation, women could “just go to a psychiatrist and get a letter” to obtain an abortion.

In the same vein, a Fine Gael minister predicted the row would not be over the need to legislate but the contents of that legislation.

“I think [legislation] is where it’s going, and I actually don’t think there’ll be much of a row over that. It will be over the contents,” said the minister.

Mr Kenny told the Dáil that the concerns expressed around the suicide issue would have to be addressed “in a realistic fashion”.

He cited a perinatal professor who said that, while such cases were real, they were small in number.

“I am sure the majority of deputies here, who represent our people, do not want a situation where we have abortion on demand or where it becomes a substitute for contraception.”

The risk of suicide is already a ground for a termination, under the 1992 X case. In that judgement, the Supreme Court ruled that abortion is permissible in cases where the mother’s life is at risk, including the risk of suicide.

However, some Fine Gael TDs fear the legislation, in attempting to bring clarity to the judgement, will actually make it easier to obtain an abortion by citing suicidal thoughts.

They will seek to ensure that the assessment of suicidal risk will be rigorous — involving multiple medical professionals and possibly the woman’s own GP.

It is understood some Fine Gael TDs also voiced reservation yesterday about the short timeframe announced by the Government to act on the issue. It came after the Cabinet published the report of the expert group on abortion and announced it would make a decision on what action to take before the Dáil rises for Christmas.

Health Minister James Reilly and Justice Minister Alan Shatter then briefed Fine Gael colleagues on the report and the timeline.

Some TDs, including junior minister Lucinda Creighton, said the timeline was too short for debate.

The expert group outlined four options: guidelines; regulations; legislation alone; or legislation plus regulations.

While not expressing a preference, the group said the last option — legislation plus regulations — would be “constitutionally, legally, and procedurally sound”.