Opposition to the proposed amendment on abortion has grown among "pro-life" campaigners. A number of activists in the west and south have left the Pro-Life Campaign, and there has been trenchant criticism of the proposal from the Mother and Child campaign.
Mrs Mary Thornton, founder and former chairwoman of Galway for Life, which is affiliated to the Pro-Life Campaign, told The Irish Times yesterday that, since she made her opposition to the proposal public during the week, she had been inundated with calls of support.
"The phone has been ringing all morning," she said. "I have not been able to take all the calls. The Mayo group decided to go the same way last night. The calls have come from all over Connacht and Munster, and from Dublin, Derry and Belfast.
"People are saying, 'Thank God at long last we have somewhere to turn'. People had no focus."
Mrs Thornton stressed that she had not approached any individual, and would not do so.
"I don't want to create divisions and destroy the organisation I founded. I have not approached a single member of the organisation asking them to leave. I don't want to damage Galway for Life in any way.
"People are free to approach me. I sought a meeting and that was not acceded to, and people are now approaching me one by one."
She added that a major reason for concern was the proposal to repeal Sections 58 and 59 of the 1861 Act, which outlaws abortion. "In the 1988 Open Door Counselling case, Mr Justice Hamilton said that this Act gave protection to the unborn from the moment of conception. We are very concerned about the repeal of these sections," Mrs Thornton said..
"The proposal is a Trojan horse. It's like bolting the front door and leaving the back door unlocked."
A spokesman for the Pro-Life Campaign told The Irish Times the organisation was aware there were concerns about the proposals, but said these were diminishing and would diminish further when the campaign was announced, especially in the light of the Catholic bishops' support.
Asked if he expected support from the Mother and Child Campaign, formerly Youth Defence, he said: "Certainly there are individuals in Mother and Child who support it."
However, Mr Justin Barrett, spokesman for the Mother and Child Campaign, said no discussions had taken place with the Pro-Life Campaign, and he did not understand how they could say it would support the proposal.
He declined to say what stance the organisation would take, although he said that its statement had already been prepared, to be released the moment the campaign was launched. Although he would not reveal the group's intentions, he was heavily critical of the proposal and the Pro-Life Campaign's position.
"William Binchy will be highly unconvincing," he said. "He will be unable to say no abortions will be carried out in Ireland if this amendment is passed. The proposal the Government has brought forward is unprecedented in that no one knows what it will do."