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Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe Rev Michael Mayes
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The Church of Ireland Bishop of Limerick and Killaloe today strongly criticised the Government's constitutional approach to the Abortion Referendum.
The Church of Ireland has consistently maintained that the Constitution is not an appropriate place to deal with an issue as complex as this, the Right Reverend Michael Mayes said.
He said: "It is a matter for detailed legislation. Asking people to approve yet another amendment and to approve legislation, the contents of which are still known to the public only in broad outline is unfair".
The bishop also said lack of definition over what protection the legislation would offer is resulting in legal and moral confusion.
"The existing clauses in the Constitution, which are to be retained, give tacit recognition, if not approval, to people travelling to other jurisdictions to have abortions.
"It is difficult to see how the proposals before us, or even the Crisis Pregnancy Agency, will do anything to clear up such disastrous moral ambiguity or be of any help to those thousands who have been driven to take that tragic road," he said.
