THE following is the text of the statement headed: The need for a referendum on abortion, issued yesterday by Mr Dan Wallace, outgoing Fianna Fail TD for Cork North Central.
I TOTALLY reject the Tanaiste Dick Spring's amazing attack today on church leaders in relation to their stated position on the abortion issue. It is an absolutely core value of any society that each individual, and every group, should, at all times, have the full right to state a position on each and every issue.
This applies as much at election time as at any other juncture; indeed it is perhaps even more important at a time of major choice for the citizens of the State.
Churches of all denominations have played far too great a role in the development of this country's educational, medical and social services to be treated in such a dismissive and intolerant manner by the Tanaiste.
The precise state of our constitutional and legislative protection for the unborn continues to be an issue of the utmost concern and upset for many people.
While the seeming legal complexities do indeed necessitate the most careful evaluation of any future steps in this matter, at this stage it is of paramount importance that everyone in Irish political life states their precise position on abortion. Therefore, I am taking this opportunity of stating my clear and deeply felt position in relation to protecting the life of the unborn.
In summary, I am totally opposed to non therapeutic abortion. In my opinion elective abortion is a totally unacceptable act to carry out on an absolutely defenceless foetus in its mother's womb. Indeed I would go so far as to say that the vital need to ensure that abortion remains illegal in Ireland is by far the single most important issue facing Oireachtas members.
The introduction of legalised abortion makes a total mockery of any society which professes itself to be civilised. At a time when the vast majority of countries in the developed world have correctly removed the obscenity of the death penalty, it is deeply ironic and cynical that many such societies have rushed to legalise the barbarity of abortion. It betrays a very superficial, inconsistent and totally hypocritical value system.
For the vast majority of Irish people who wish to retain a total ban on elective abortion, a vital question must now be addressed as a matter of the greatest urgency. That is "what is the most effective legislative mechanism to ensure that abortion remains absolutely illegal in Ireland?"
While a number of crossparty and internal party committees and expert groups are currently addressing this precise issue, I believe that a realistic but firm dead line should now be set for the completion of this process; this might be, at most, within one month of the resumption of Dail Eireann in the autumn.
This would pave the way for an immediate, intensive debate on the matter, to be followed by decisive legislative action to confirm the State's unambiguous commitment to the total protection of unborn infants.
I am personally absolutely determined to do everything in my power to hasten this process, and I will support every effective step taken to guarantee the full rights of the unborn child in this country. Nothing less is either adequate or acceptable.