The Irish Division of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, which represents the profession in Ireland, has expressed concern at the misrepresentation of the college's position in relation to abortion. This misrepresentation is contained in the Government's Green Pap- er on Abortion, according to a RCP statement.
It says the misunderstand- ing emerged from the Lord Rawlinson Inquiry into the Operation and Consequences of the Abortion Act in the UK, which was conducted in 1994. Those who gave evidence to the Rawlinson committee, Prof Chane Kumar and Dr M R Oates, were misrepresented in this report, and this was repeated in the Green Paper, although the college issued a statement in July 1994 saying its views had been misrepresented by the report.
"At no time during their evidence did they say that there was 'no psychiatric justification for abortion'. What was said was that there were 'no absolute psychiatric indications for the termination of pregnancy," and it was further clarified that the indications for the termination of pregnancy should be made on an individual patient's basis.
"The Irish Division does not want the debate on abortion to be misinformed and therefore we hope that the correct quotation is used in future."
Meanwhile, the Pro-Life Campaign has warned that if the Government were to legislate on abortion in line with the recommendations of the Adelaide Society it would be legislating for abortion on demand.
"In shaping public policy on this sensitive issue, the Government must be guided by the expert psychiatric and medical evidence presented to the All-Party Oireachtas hearings on abortion," its spokeswoman, Dr Ruth Cullen, said. "What the Adelaide Society proposes is abortion on demand, includ- ing cases where the child suffers from particular disabilities.
"Rather than proposing legislation on such grounds, we should be seeking resources to create a more welcoming soci- ety for expectant mothers and their unborn children. A clear law on the right to life is an important first step in this regard."