Abortion statement: Church of Ireland

The Church of Ireland has welcomed the fact that the Government “has taken the decision to bring clarity to bear on the issue of abortion under certain circumstances” .

In a statement, the Archbishop of Dublin, Michael Jackson, said: “We fully recognise that any decision which, in respect of a woman’s health, results in a termination is a terribly weighty one.

“Our hope would also be that appropriate clarity will facilitate those who are practitioners in the field, namely nurses, doctors and others, as well as parents.”

The Church of Ireland, he noted, had “recently restated in public that it stands with the notion of ‘real and substantial risk’ to the life of the mother in making decisions on terminations of pregnancies”.

He said “in our opinion the measure of the legislation will be in how the assessment of ‘real and substantial risk’ is handled, not least in the context of suicide. We look forward to contributing our perspective during the period of consultation. We further feel that authoritative guidance on this subject is urgently needed.”