The Catholic Bishops have said that three of the four options
proposed by the expert group on abortion “can never be morally
justified.”
In a statement today, the bishops queried why the
expert group's Report of the Expert Group on the Judgement in A, B and C
v Ireland did not propose a referendum to ban abortion or reverse the
X-case judgment.
They also called for “sufficient time for a calm,
rational and informed debate to take place before any decision about
the options offered by the Expert Group Report are taken.”
Public representatives, they said, “must consider the profound moral questions that arise in responding to this report.”
The bishops are currently attending their winter meeting in Maynooth. It concludes this evening.
In
their statement today, they said the report “has put forward options
that could end the practice of making this vital ethical distinction in
Irish hospitals. Of the four options presented by the report, three
involve abortion – the direct and intentional killing of an unborn
child. This can never be morally justified.”
They go on to say
that the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights does not oblige
the Government to legislate for abortion.
In their statement,
which they describe as an initial response by the Irish Catholic
Bishops’ Conference to the expert group report, they said “the judgment
of the European Court of Human Rights permits options on this matter of
fundamental moral, social and constitutional importance that are not
offered by this report.”
Included, they said, was the option of
introducing a constitutional prohibition on abortion or another form of
constitutional amendment to reverse the X-case ruling.
The report
provided “no ethical analysis of the options available, even though this
is first and foremost a moral issue and consideration of the ethical
dimension was included in the terms of reference,” they said, adding
that it “takes no account of the risks involved in trying to legislate
for so-called 'limited abortion' within the context of the X case
judgment. The X case judgment includes the threat of suicide as grounds
for an abortion.”
They continued that “international experience
shows that allowing abortion on the grounds of mental health effectively
opens the floodgates for abortion".
They also noted that the
report also identifies guidelines as an option. It notes that guidelines
can help to ensure consistency in the delivery of medical treatment.
“If guidelines can provide greater clarity as to when life-saving
treatment may be provided to a pregnant mother or her unborn child
within the existing legislative framework, and where the direct and
intentional killing of either person continues to be excluded, then such
ethically sound guidelines may offer a way forward.”
They said
current law and medical guidelines in Ireland allow nurses and doctors
in Irish hospitals to apply this distinction. “This has been an
important factor in ensuring that Irish hospitals are among the safest
and best in the world in terms of medical care for both a mother and her
unborn baby during pregnancy. As a country this is something we should
cherish, promote and protect.”
They concluded that “a matter of
this importance deserves sufficient time for a calm, rational and
informed debate to take place before any decision about the options
offered by the Expert Group Report are taken. All involved, especially
public representatives, must consider the profound moral questions that
arise in responding to this report. Abortion is gravely immoral in all
circumstances, no matter how ‘limited’ access to abortion may be.”
Speaking
on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland this morning, Bishop of Kilmore Leo O’Reilly
said the expert group report was “somewhat flawed” as it had only
considered a limited range of options.
He said the group had not
sought the opinions of an ethical expert and had not followed its own
terms of reference to consider the ethical issues relating to abortion.
Yesterday,
Minister for Health James Reilly reiterated the Coalition’s “firm
commitment” to bring legal clarity to the issue of lawful abortion in
Ireland, but said that would “not mean abortion on demand”.
Five
members of the Catholic hierarchy, including Bishop O’Reilly, joined
thousands of anti-abortion protesters at a vigil outside the Dáil last
night. The protest was organised by Pro-Life Campaign, Youth Defence,
the Life Institute, and Family and Life.
Dr O’Reilly said today that legislation for abortion is “not acceptable”.
“Three
of the four proposals by the expert group include abortion, and that is
not something that is acceptable in Catholic teaching, as everybody
knows,” he said.
He added that the Government must do “whatever is
necessary" to ensure that the life of the mother and the life of the
child are both protected. “Our position is not that one is more precious
than the other. Each has an equal right to life and we believe that in
the current medical practice it is possible to respect that right for
both,” he said.
Following the death of Savita Halappanavar, the
standing committee of the Irish Catholic Bishops Conference issued a
statement last month saying the Church “has never taught that the life
of a child in the womb should be preferred to that of a mother”.