Taoiseach expects Government to decide option on abortion today

Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that the Government will decide today on what course of action to follow to deal with the issue of medical abortions.

The Cabinet will discuss the report from the Expert Group on Abortion, which included a combination of legislation and regulation among its list of options.

A number of Fine Gael TDs have expressed concern over the threat of suicide being used as a reason for an abortion.

Speaking on his way into Government Buildings this morning, the Taoiseach said that Ministers will decide on the course of action.

"We'll make a decision today on the options that the expert group … set out,"

"What Government did say is that a decision will be made on which option would be made on which option would be accepted and followed through, and that's what I expect Government will do today."

Fine Gael Meath East Deputy Regina Doherty expects a combination of legislation and regulation in cases where a woman's life is deemed to be at risk will be the route chosen today, however she is one of a number of TDs who have concerns about how legislation could deal with the issue of suicide.

"Looking at the four options, I think that it's probably fairly common knowledge that what's most likely is that's going to be announced today is legislation with regulation," she said.

"Speaking to psychologists and psychiatrists, they al admit that it's going to be difficult to legislate, particularly when there was no timeframe during a gestation process put in in the X Case.

"There's all these anomalies that, for someone like me, it makes it very difficult to imagine how we're going to get legislation that will only be precisely around what the intentions of the X Case were for."