State defends restrictive laws to European Court

THE Irish Government vehemently defended Ireland’s restrictive abortion laws and insisted that terminations are easily and readily available where there is a risk to a woman’s life.

The state, represented by eight lawyers, flatly denied that women’s rights were being infringed by the strict laws on abortion and claimed the case being made by three women to the European Court of Human Rights was not based on facts.

Attorney General Paul Gallagher said that Ireland’s laws were based on the “right to life of the unborn, based on profound moral values deeply embedded in the fabric of Irish society”.