Vote Yes in a 'stark choice' - Binchy

The alternative to a Yes vote in next month's referendum is legislation for abortion up to birth, according to Prof William Binchy of the Pro-Life Campaign.

Prof Binchy said the proposed amendment presented the people with a stark choice. "If people are against abortion and in favour of protecting unborn life, they can vote Yes," he said.

"If they are in favour of letting politicians get at this particular theme again and again, incidentally allowing the Labour Party to seek to introduce legalised abortion on demand, or allowing Mr Noonan to bring in legislation in line with the Supreme Court which would have the effect of allowing abortion up to birth, they can vote No."

Speaking on RTÉ's News at One, Prof Binchy said that we had heard 20 years of discussion on abortion and seen "that the Supreme Court can do surprising things in this area".

But the proposed amendment gave two guarantees: first, that the legislation people were voting on would have constitutional support, so that there was no danger that the Supreme Court could strike it down; and second, that politicians could not come back and put another measure through which would have the effect of renewing the threat to the life of the unborn.

The Supreme Court judgment in the X case had left the people in a situation in which the law was at variance with medical ethics, he added. The proposed amendment would redress this.

"All the obstetricians, all the masters of the maternity hospitals, all the psychiatrists - Prof Anthony Clare, Prof \ Casey, Dr \ Sheehan, all the experts in this area who gave evidence to the Oireachtas committee - are in favour of the amendment," he said.