PRO-life campaigners yesterday said a new opinion poll showed strong public support for a continued ban on abortion.The results of the Millward Browne Lansdowne poll of 950 people found 70% of respondents were in favour of constitutional protection for the unborn.
The full question asked was whether respondents were in favour of constitutional protection for the unborn that prohibits abortion but which allows the existing practice of intervention to save a mother’s life in accordance with Irish medical ethics.
While 70% answered yes to the question, 13% said they were opposed and 16% said they did not know or had no opinion.
The Pro-Life Campaign, which commissioned the poll, said the findings were significant.
Dr Berry Kiely, Pro-Life Campaign medical adviser, said: "What distinguishes this finding from polls showing support for abortion is the distinction it makes between necessary medical interventions in pregnancy and induced abortion where the life of the unborn child is directly targeted. This is a critical ethical distinction which abortion advocates constantly seek to blur.
"If we are to have a genuinely honest debate on abortion we cannot arbitrarily airbrush the unborn child out of the debate or the many testimonies of women who regret their abortions."
Dr Kiely said the poll result was "hugely reassuring as it points to overwhelming public support for an ethos of care for both mother and baby during pregnancy".
The Pro-Life Campaign also cited a Report on Maternal Mortality carried out by the World Health Organisation, UNICEF and other bodies, dating from 2007, which Dr Kiely said indicated Ireland was the safest country in the world in which to be pregnant.
However, just last month the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) welcomed the results of another poll which suggested widespread support for the liberalisation of the law on abortion.
A YouGov national opinion poll indicated that 78% of those questioned support access to abortion in Ireland if the pregnancy endangers a woman’s health or if the pregnancy is the result of sexual abuse, rape or incest.
The same poll, commissioned by Marie Stopes Reproductive Choices, found only 3% of respondents felt that abortion in Ireland is not acceptable under any circumstances.
Niall Behan, chief executive of the IFPA, said the vast majority of Irish people now recognise that many women face difficult dilemmas in pregnancy.
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