Flanagan delays decision on support for abortion Bill

Fine Gael backbencher Terence Flanagan has said he is likely to decide next weekend if he will vote for the Government's abortion legislation.

“I have major concerns about the suicide provision and I am seeking further clarification on it,” he said.

The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 will be introduced in the Dáil next Thursday by Minister for Health James Reilly and is expected to pass all stages in the Oireachtas by the end of next month. Mr Flanagan said yesterday he would be looking to see if new material on the Bill emerged from Dr Reilly's opening second stage speech.

Discussion on the Bill
Mr Flanagan, who represents Dublin North East, has invited his Fine Gael colleagues to a discussion on the Bill in Leinster House tomorrow.

Guest speakers will be senior lecturer in ethics at Dublin City University Dr Donal O’Mathuna and chairman of the Iona Institute Dr John Murray.

He said the discussion would focus on the Bill’s effects on the conscience rights of doctors, nurses and hospitals.

“The proposed limitation on conscience rights are highly restrictive, even by the standards of countries with more liberal abortion laws than our own,” added Mr Flanagan.

“In addition, the event will be an opportunity to talk about the place of conscience when voting for or against a measure like this.”

So far, two Fine Gael Oireachtas members, Dublin South TD Peter Mathews and Galway Senator Fidelma Healy-Eames, have said publicly that they will vote against the Bill.

Others are known to have reservations about the suicide provision, including Minister of State for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton and party colleagues of Taoiseach Enda Kenny in his Mayo constituency, John O'Mahony and Michelle Mulherin, who have yet to say how they will vote.

Vast majority 'onside'
Fine Gael sources are privately adamant that there will no mass backbench defections when the Bill is voted on.

“The vast majority of TDs and Senators are onside,” said a source. “The waverers will soon have to make up their minds, and, ultimately, they will be few in number.”

Meanwhile, senior party personnel continue to firmly rule out a free vote which will be sought in a motion moved by Mr Mathews and likely to be discussed by the parliamentary party within the next fortnight.

Mr Mathews said the issue was part of the fabric and people of Ireland required a free vote driven by a well-informed conscience.

Speaking on RTÉ's The Week in Politics, Dr Reilly reiterated the Taoiseach's view that there would be no free vote and that the whip would apply.

“I believe that is appropriate and right,” he said and added that he expected Mr Mathews’s motion to be defeated.

Dr Reilly said the lack of clarity on the abortion issue since 1992 had, perhaps in some cases, led to doctors being unsure about what was legal and permissible for their patients.

“We have made it very clear we are not conferring any additional rights, nor are we taking any rights away,” he added.