It is not possible to legislate for individual cases when dealing with abortion, according to the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke.
Ms O'Rourke was speaking at a press conference with Fianna Fáil female TDs and senators yesterday and responding to a question on a case where the foetus could not survive outside the womb.
"You cannot bring it down to each individual case, sad as each case can be," she said. She had been asked about the case of Ms Deirdre de Barra, a woman carrying a foetus with a congenital abnormality that meant it could not survive outside the womb.A letter from Ms de Barra was published in The Irish Times this week.
"There are other letters in The Irish Times today in answer to that very sad case which put the other point of view . . . They are not so much opposing letters as ones that set out a different view on the same thing." Her party was calling for a Yes vote because it would be a "Yes vote for life".
The proposals reflected five years of painstaking work by the Government, she added. "The people will have a choice; the people will give their point of view."
Minister of State Ms Mary Coughlan said her concern in the final days before voting was the level of confusion among people. However, she said that could be dealt with over the next few days. People were "not confused about the issue" but were not sure whether they needed to vote Yes or No.
Ms O'Rourke said that as polling day drew near, the core facts remained. The proposal would give legal certainty for doctors, protecting existing medical procedures, required to save the lives of women in pregnancy.
It would protect the life of children during pregnancy; remove the morning-after pill from any potential sanction; and ensure that the people had to be consulted on any changes to the law.
The press conference was also attended by the Minister for Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands, Ms de Valera; Ministers of State Mary Hanafin and Mary Wallace, TDs Marian McGennis, and Cecilia Keaveney, and Senators Ann Ormonde and Ann Leonard.