The Catholic bishops have no proposed wording for the constitutional referendum they are seeking on abortion, the all-party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution was told yesterday.
The Bishop of Kildare and Leighlin, Dr Laurence Ryan, said the Bishops' Conference believed it was possible to formulate an amendment so the right to life of the unborn would be adequately protected.
"We believe that what is required is a constitutional amendment that would protect the right to life of the unborn child, while recognising that an expectant mother, who is ill, must receive such medical treatment as is necessary, even when that treatment, as a side-effect, puts her unborn child at risk."
However, pressed by Mr Jim O'Keeffe (FG) and Mr Derek McDowell (Labour) to suggest a wording, the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Desmond Connell, said: "We are not experts in the framing of law. We felt that it would not be appropriate for us to attempt to do that."
Dr Ryan and Dr Connell were accompanied by Father Paul Tighe, lecturer in moral theology at the Mater Dei Institute of Education, Ms Ann Power, lecturer in jurisprudence and philosophy at King's Inns and All Hallows, and Dr Ciaran Craven, medico-legal adviser.
Dr Ryan said it was a matter of justice, and in the interests of equality, that everybody had the right not to have his or her life treated as a means to an end, that such a right should be enshrined in the Constitution, and that the direct and intentional taking of an innocent human life should be prohibited.
"It is singularly appropriate that such a basic value should be stated clearly in the document which establishes our legal and political system. The need for such a clear statement of principle or value is rendered even more urgent by the fact that the Supreme Court interpreted the existing constitutional wording in a manner that does not offer full and meaningful protection to the right to life of the unborn child.
"We believe that the principle enunciated by the Supreme Court in the X case is seriously flawed. If that judgment is allowed to stand as an authoritative statement of Irish law and, further, if that principle were to be enacted into legislation in this jurisdiction, then we would be confronted with well-meaning but erroneous law reform. This would be to deal with difficult situations by abandoning the fundamental principle that every human life is of value in itself."
Dr Ryan said the primary focus of the bishops' submission to the committee was that it was essential to ensure that the legal order adequately protected the right to life of the unborn. "However, it has to be recognised that reliance on the law alone will not be sufficient to protect such a right. We need to ensure as a society that our `no' to the legalisation of abortion is matched by a compassionate and caring `yes' to those who find themselves faced with difficult circumstances."
Dr Connell condemned the use of "aggressive tactics" in the abortion campaign. "I wish to assure the members of the Oireachtas that they have no support from the Episcopal Conference."
Mr Brendan Daly (FF) asked what the attitude of the bishops would be in a situation where the mother was suicidal, and there was a threat to both lives.
Dr Ryan said every effort should be made to save the mother, using psychiatric help. "But to directly take away the life of the unborn child, for that stated purpose, should not be permitted."
Mr McDowell raised the issue of pregnancies caused by rape and incest, and asked if the Catholic Church regarded it as a matter where the exercise of conscience was appropriate.
Father Tighe replied: "I think that the church's teaching in that area would be to say that to abort in those circumstances would be wrong." Mr McDowell suggested that very many women, and the parents of a woman or child who had been raped, would take a different view.
Father Tighe replied: "Of course and I would accept, too, that in many circumstances there may be situations where a person chooses to abort in situations like that, where they are sincerely and genuinely convinced that that is the best or only option open to them. What I would say is that they are mistaken, that it is wrong.
"But I would also say that sincerity of conscience may excuse them from any personal moral culpability or fault." However, he added that they would not be excused at the level of law. "We would still say they did something wrong. They took a life."
Asked by Mr McDowell if the State should reflect the moral certainty of Catholic teaching, Ms Power said: "I think the State should reflect what reason discloses as wrong. I think that every human being appreciates the value of life."
