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”.

He insisted that the women in the case, referred to only as A, B and C, all of whom had abortions abroad, would have had access to medical treatment, advice and support if they had sought it in Ireland.

Mr Gallagher said the case tried to align Irish laws to that of other member states and was just an attempt to be an “act popularis” – a popular act.

He said they should have taken their cases to the Irish courts before going to the European Court in Strasbourg to claim their rights under the European Convention on Human Rights had been contravened.

Senior counsel for the state, Donal O’Donnell said the case was a significant one for Ireland and especially for those who were pro-life and pro-choice.

But he attacked the arguments made by the women who are being supported the Irish Family Planning Association, saying, “Rarely if ever, has a court been asked to address such important issues on such inadequate basis”, and added that he had rarely heard such “sweeping generalisations so tenuously linked to the facts” and that the Irish legal landscape the women’s lawyers described to the court was “unrecognisable”.

He insisted abortion was available for women whose lives were at risk.

“These grounds will rarely arise but where there is a possibility of a risk to the life of the women, physical or medical, there is a very clear bright line rule provided by Irish law that is neither difficult to understand or apply”.

Ireland had made hugeefforts to address the situation with reports from Oireachtas Committees, Green Papers, the setting up of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency – which he said was “almost a unique development in Europe” and it developed comprehensive guidelines for the medical profession together with the Medical Council guidelines.

It was difficult to conceive what further guidance or information could be given and encapsulated within legislation, he said.

“The law may be restrictive but it is clear, it is well known and it is applied. What is not known is if we had a permanent and rigidly applied legislation instead of a doctor-patient relationship,” he said.

In reply to questions from Irish judge Mary Finlay Geoghegan, Mr Gallagher said there was no shortage of doctors that would be prepared to support an applicant from C who was suffering from cancer.

He said no legislation was planned on the issue.

Ireland’s position on abortion had been acknowledged and respected by the EU in guarantees in the Nice and Lisbon Treaties.