The Cabinet has agreed the terms of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill 2013.Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said the legislation will be published this evening by Minister for Health James Reilly.
Mr Kenny earlier defended the legislation and said he is a Taoiseach who happens to be a Catholic, rather than a Catholic Taoiseach.
Speaking in the Dáil, he said the Government will act strictly in accordance with its Constitutional obligations and inside the law.
He said he was providing certainty and clarity and said that the legislation is about saving lives not ending them.
Mr Kenny said he is being branded by some people as a murderer who will have the death of 20 million babies on his soul.
He has received medals, scapulars, plastic foetuses, letters written in blood and telephone calls, he said.
The Taoiseach was speaking in response to independent TD Mattie McGrath, who said the Government is proposing abortion legislation that will fundamentally change the law.
It is understood there is unlikely to be a so-called sunset clause or statutory review of the Bill.
However, there will be oversight of its operation by the Health Service Executive or HIQA.
Some of the difficulties aired during the recent health committee hearings are also understood to have been taken on board.
Legislation needed to bring legal clarity - Coveney
Minister for Agriculture Simon Coveney said some of the criticism surrounding the abortion legislation is not based on fact.
Speaking on his way into this morning's Cabinet meeting, Mr Coveney said the focus must be on the detail of the legislation, rather than the perceptions around it.
The minister called for a civilised discussion on what is a highly emotive and difficult issue.
Minister of State Kathleen Lynch said that new abortion legislation would give doctors a degree of certainty in their work.
Speaking on RTÉ's Morning Ireland, Ms Lynch said there was no need for any further changes to the abortion legislation in spite of yesterday's statement from Catholic bishops criticising the legislation.
She said she has always believed that the Catholic Church has a right to its own opinion.
However, she said the Government has a responsibility to legislate for everyone, not just people of a particular religious community.
Ireland's Catholic bishops said yesterday that the legislation would for the first time permit the deliberate and intentional killing of an unborn child.
They said the Government is under no obligation to legislate for the X Case and it should allow TDs and Senators freedom of conscience on whether to vote for it.