The No side wanted lawyer Maria Steen to represent them in tonight's TV debate; RTE had previously announced Cora Sherlock would represent the No side with Sinn Féin's Peadar Toibin.

Reaction to the Supreme Court ruling on the rights of the unborn was swift and divided. Pro-choice advocates welcomed it, while anti-abortion campaigners said it was rushed and that it exposed Government “hostility” to the unborn child.

A national anti-abortion billboard campaign featuring an image of an 11-week-old foetus in the womb has been launched by the Iona Institute.

The Iona Institute say the flatmates of a Belfast woman given a suspended prison sentence after having an abortion are also victims.

WHEN did Barack Obama cease to be homophobic? Is Enda Kenny redeemed from his homophobia? If some of the hoopla of recent days is to be taken seriously, then anybody who doesn’t favour same sex marriage can be described as homophobic.

RELAXING into the ritual of a soft-boiled egg on Sunday morning I was astonished, actually envious, to read in several newspapers that RTÉ paid out €85,000 to named people ostensibly libelled when called homophobic by Rory O’Neill aka the drag-artist Panti Bliss on the Saturday Night Show.

Pro-life groups will oppose “wrong and unnecessary” legislation allowing abortion when there is a risk of suicide — and will target politicians who support the law change.

The four Catholic Archbishops of Ireland have condemned the government's decision to legislate for abortion - saying it will pave the way for the direct and intentional killing of unborn children.