Catholic bishops have described the proposed abortion legislation as
“morally unacceptable” and the head of the Catholic Church in Ireland has told politicians they have a “solemn duty” to oppose abortion.
Cardinal Sean Brady said legislators had an obligation to oppose laws
that sought to attack the right to life and said he hoped another
referendum would be held to change the Constitutional protections on the
issue.
“I say that they (politicians) have an obligation to oppose the laws
that are attacking something so fundamental as the right to life and
they would have to follow their own conscience.”
In a statement issued today, the bishops said the Protection of Life
during Pregnancy Bill 2013, if approved, would make the “direct and
intentional killing of unborn children lawful in Ireland”.
Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore responded to the bishops by saying the Government has a duty to legislate on the issue.
“They (bishops) are entitled to express their point of view. This is a democratic country,” the Labour leader said.
“But it is time that that legislation was dealt with.” Mr Gilmore said
it was reasonable for individual healthcare professionals to have
conscientious objection to abortion.
“But what we have to do collectively as a society and legislators is
make laws that make it clear what is the position for a pregnant woman
whose life is at risk, what treatment is available to her,” he said.
“She needs to be assured that her life will be saved, that she will not
be at risk of death and that the medical professionals who treat her
know exactly where they stand if they act to save her life. That’s our
duty as legislators.”
Cardinal Brady said the failure by the Government to allow institutions
to opt out of carrying out terminations on conscientious objection
grounds amounted to a denial of fundamental religious freedoms.
The proposed legislation had “potentially menacing implications” for
all Catholic institutions and expression of religious freedoms, he told
RTE Radio’s News at One programme.
In its statement the bishops said “the Bill as outlined represents a
dramatic and morally unacceptable change to Irish law and is unnecessary
to ensure that women receive the life-saving treatment they need during
pregnancy”.
It said the bill appeared to impose “a duty on Catholic hospitals to provide abortions.
“This would be totally unacceptable and has serious implications for
the existing legal and Constitutional arrangements that respect the
legitimate autonomy and religious ethos of faith-based institutions. It
would also pose serious difficulties for the conscientious beliefs of
many citizens”.
The Bill was published late on Tuesday night after intense discussions between the coalition parties Fine Gael and Labour.
The proposals, if enacted, will legislate for the 1992 X case judgment
from the Supreme Court which found abortion is legal if there is a real
and substantial risk to the life of the mother, including emergency
medical cases, non-emergency medical cases and the threat of suicide.