Fianna Fáil TD says this may the final referendum on abortion

Fianna Fáil TD and possible leadership contender, Michael McGrath has warned that repealing the Eighth Amendment will leave the unborn exposed to the risk of abortion on demand as people don't know what form the government's legislation will actually take.

Mr McGrath told Cork's 96FM Opinion Line that he had major concerns about what could happen to the unborn child if people vote on May 25th to repeal the Eighth Amendment, and that he was not reassured by government pronouncements on the matter.

“I would be concerned that if this referendum is passed, that the people will never again be consulted by way of referendum on the question of abortion - what we would be doing is removing from our constitution all rights belonging to the unborn.

“If the referendum is passed, we would be signing up to an unknown ... We don’t know what the final shape of the legislation will look like. I do not believe we should be bringing in legislation that allows for abortion without any reason whatsoever.”

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“If the desire is to deal with the hard cases that are undoubtedly there, then the government should be putting a different question - they have put people in an incredibly difficult and unenviable position and I can only be honest with people and say that I will be voting No.”

Mr McGrath made his comments as his Cork South Central constituency colleague and Fianna Fáil leader, Micheal Martin, re-iterated his commitment to voting Yes in the referendum when he addressed a gathering of Lawyers for Yes in Dublin.

Mr Martin said that he believed the recommendations of the all party Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment had withstood scrutiny and from travelling around the country and discussing the issue, he believed it was important people listened to the voices of Irish women.

“I believe people increasingly understand that abortion is an everyday reality in Ireland. There is no option available to make Ireland abortion-free,” said Mr Martin, adding that the Eighth Amendment has not only failed to make Ireland abortion-free but has inflicted considerable harm.

Meanwhile, former Fianna Fáil spokesman on health Billy Kelleher warned that undecided voters will not be swayed by appeals to their liberal nature, but instead by highlighting how the amendment currently affects women in crisis and difficult pregnancies.

The Cork North Central TD has been unambiguous in his support for repealing the Eighth Amendment for several years, since a personal friend and his partner made the decision to go to Liverpool for a termination after their baby was diagnosed with fatal foetal abnormality.

Speaking at a cross-party briefing for Together for Yes in Cork, Mr Kelleher said he had been involved in debating and discussing the issue for seven years as a member of a number of Oireachtas Commiittees, including the one which recommended repeal of the Eighth Amendment.

“There are people on both sides who are beyond changing their views but the middle ground are the people who accept that the status quo cannot continue and there has to be change and they want to know what comes after the change,” he said.

“These people are looking at it in terms of the issues that are constantly arising in terms of compassion for women who find themselves in a difficult situation through being pregnant as a result off violent rape or have a diagnosis of a fatal foetal abnormality or an unplanned pregnancy.

“It’s not about being liberal or conservative but about engaging with the issues in such cases that the middle ground can be persuaded. It’s not about digging trenches and slugging it out, but by engaging in conversations with friends and work colleagues and getting the message out there.”

Mr Kelleher said he didn’t know whether his support for repeal cost him votes in the last general election but it wasn’t a consideration as he believed it is the right thing to do for Irish women.

“For too long I think we’ve had too many people looking at this terms of electoral challenges they might face by changing their views or expressing their views more openly. My experience, as a lived 50 year old, was that the Eighth Amendment has done harm to too many women for too long.”

Asked about his Fianna Fáil colleagues who gathered for a photograph last week to indicate their support for a No vote, Mr Kelleher said that he had never seen the issue as a party political one and whenever speaking on the subject was keen to make it clear he was speaking in a personal capacity.

“When I was party spokesman on health, I was clear when I was speaking on the issue that we would take it away from the narrow partisan party view that encapsulates political debate in this country and try and allow a calm reflective debate in civic society, free from any party loyalties.”