DUBLIN, June 14, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A group of Fine Gael TDs are attempting to force their party leader and Prime Minister to allow a conscience vote on Ireland’s impending abortion bill.
Enda Kenny has pushed the bill forward in opposition to the expert evidence presented by the consultation, which said abortion can never be considered a medical treatment for suicidal ideation.
The bill allows abortion up to the point of full gestation in cases where a mother threatens suicide, a provision that has been blasted by medical as well as legal experts.
Peter Mathews of Dublin South, Terence Flanagan of Dublin North East and Brian Walsh are regarded as certainties to vote against the legislation. Another dozen members are expressing what the Independent described as “strong concerns.”
Kenny has absolutely ruled out the possibility of a free vote, despite pressure from inside his own party.
Meanwhile, Kenny continues to be blasted by pro-life groups who say he is ignoring the evidence that the bill will accomplish nothing but opening the gates to abortion-on-demand.
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The Life Institute has said that the publication of a bill permitting abortion on suicide grounds shows that the government “doesn't give a damn for the evidence” and is “blinded by arrogance and ideology” on the issue.
Niamh Uí Bhriain of the Life Institute said, “He is simply disregarding the evidence of obstetricians who say they have serious moral and ethical concerns with ending the life of an unborn baby where a mother says she is suicidal.”
“And he is ignoring the evidence of our leading psychiatrists who not only say that abortion does not treat suicidality, but have told the government that this Bill would help to normalize suicide,” she added.
She called the actions of the government “feckless, irresponsible and cold-hearted.”
She said that the provisions of the bill would allow doctors to prematurely induce labor and deliver healthy babies before viability, “That baby will then suffer all the possible consequences of prematurity including brain damage, blindness, and even death.
This is horrific,” said the Life Institute spokeswoman. Health Minister James Reilly has said that such children, if they survive, will be made wards of the state.
The government, Uí Bhriain said, is “blinded by arrogance and ideology.”