Ferris loses Labour whip as abortion bill defeated

Clare Daly's amendment on abortion in the case of fatal foetal abnormalities has been defeated in the Dáíl this afternoon.

The amendment was defeated by 104 votes to 20. However, Labour TD Anne Ferris voted against the party on the issue.

She will now lose the party whip. Her colleague Ciara Conway, who was earlier reported to be voting against, did not defy the party stance.

In the build-up to the vote, Ferris said she wanted the bill to progress so that it could be examined by legal and medical experts. She had said she was willing to lose the whip on "a matter of principle".

Speaking to reporters outside the Dáil, she said Joan Burton had taken a clear stance with her coalition partner, Fine Gael.

"We do need to repeal the eighth amendment, but I would have preferred … that we would do it in this term of Government. I never really subscribed to the fact that we should push it back until after the general election."

Only three members of Fianna Fáil - which allowed a free vote - voted in favour. Sinn Féin members abstained.

The vote followed a briefing of the Labour Parliamentary Party, by Minister Alex White, on the Attorney General's position that the amendment would be unconstitutional.

Kevin Humphreys, Dominic Hannigan, Robert Dowds and Ruairi Quinn were all absent from Labour's benches for the vote. Humphreys was on business in the Seanad, Hannigan had permission, while Dowds was in Stormont in the North and Quinn was overseas.

Prior to the vote, a number of opposition TDs objected to the Labour Party receiving a briefing that was not available to all members, with Gerry Adams and Richard Boyd Barrett voicing strong objections.

After the meeting ended, the party issued a brief one-line statement on Twitter.

An agreed statement at the end of today's PLP meeting: The Labour Party reaffirms our commitment to work for the repeal of the 8th amendment

— The Labour Party Ireland (@labour) February 10, 2015

"The Labour Party reaffirms our commitment to work for the repeal of the 8th amendment," it read.

The Attorney General had advised the Government Clare Daly's bill would be unconstitutional due the eighth amendment, which covers the right to life of the unborn "with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother."

Following the vote, in an interview on RTÉ news, Clare Daly said she would like to see the eighth amendment addressed.