Tánaiste rules out abortion change despite UN criticism

Tánaiste Joan Burton has signalled there will be no further changes to abortion laws during the lifetime of this Government, despite strong criticism from the United Nations.

At a periodic review this week, several members of the UN Human Rights Committee said women in Ireland were being denied human rights in cases where they could not terminate a pregnancy as a result of rape or incest, or had a diagnosis of a fatal foetal abnormality.

In the Dáil yesterday, Independent TD, Catherine Murphy, said the “damning review” made for “grim reading.”

She described how she had travelled to Liverpool with women who were carrying babies who had no chance of survival outside the womb.

“They would have had to retrieve the remains of a baby they wanted by way of something like DHL delivery, which is absolutely appalling. It is inhumane,” she said.

Labour leader Ms Burton said that while her “personal view” was that terminations should be allowed in such cases, “as of yet we do not have agreement on that in the programme for Government.”

She said such terminations would not be allowed as a result of the eighth amendment of the Constitution, passed in a referendum in 1983, which gives an equal right of life to the mother and an unborn child.

“I did not share the view at the time and my party and others like me recommended voting against the amendment. But as a democrat, the Deputy must recognise that the people voted for the eighth amendment,” she said.

Deputy Murphy said she found it “profoundly chilling” to listen to the remarks of Government officials who told the UN committee that “denying these women the right to abortion was the will of the people.”

She said attitudes have changed significantly since then, and asked Ms Burton to use her “powerful position” as “one of the few women in a decision-making role in this Government” to make the system more humane.

“We cannot rely on a 31-year-old referendum decision, presuming that people have not moved on when so many events have taken place in this country. We need a referendum,” she said.

“We are not only in breach of the covenant but also in breach of basic humanity in denying an abortion to a woman who has been raped, is a victim of incest or has to endure carrying to full term a pregnancy when there is no prospect of delivering a live baby.”