Fine Gael said yesterday it had not closed the door to another abortion referendum. The party said it would give the Fianna Fail approach, as outlined in the report, "a sympathetic hearing" and would keep "as open a mind as possible" when it saw the wording.
However, the party said it remained to be convinced the Fianna Fail option would work and was concerned that a referendum would divert attention and resources away from the proposed crisis pregnancy strategy.
"Fine Gael notes that the approach will lead to legal controversy and social division without necessarily delivering any concrete benefit."
If there was a referendum it should take place on a day when nothing else was being put to the people to vote on.
The party said it was incumbent on those who favoured a constitutional amendment to produce a wording. "Only then can a debate begin on its feasibility or certainty."
In its statement Fine Gael said it respected the sacredness of all human life and would protect existing medical practice in Irish hospitals and safeguard the position of the mother and child if threatened.
"Because the unborn human life deserves special protection, we believe that the first and most important question to be asked about every policy that addresses the issue of abortion is - does it reduce the number of Irish women who have abortions abroad?"
The party said it believed the £50 million crisis pregnancy plan proposed in the report was the best and most likely way in which "real and measurable change for the better" could be effected.
"We believe that there is a high risk that concentration on constitutional and/or legislative measures to address the issue of abortion might divert attention from and reduce the focus of the 10-year action plan."
The Labour Party said the fact no consensus was reached on a referendum showed the complexities surrounding abortion.
"We believe that it is important that the central issue arising from the publication of this report is not about a referendum at all but rather about facing the realities of abortion and the needs of women in crisis pregnancy," Labour's health spokeswoman, Ms Liz McManus, said.
"A referendum will not make the slightest difference to that reality, except that it might put certain women's lives at risk if it passes."
Ms McManus said the choice was to either go down the "unnecessary and divisive" route of a referendum or to find common ground rather than division.
"We can work together to ensure that a health strategy can be effective to meet this objective. A referendum will prevent that kind of consensus being found and will lead to further arid confrontation while the real issues are overshadowed," she said.