The Alliance for a No Vote will make legislating for the X case an election issue, according to Ms Ivana Bacik BL. She was speaking at a press conference yesterday in the wake of the defeat of the Government's constitutional amendment.
"The people have now spoken twice on this issue," she said. "The Government must legislate. If it refused we will make it an election issue."
Ms Anne Marlborough BL told the press conference that Abortion Reform had published draft legislation on this subject a year ago, and was happy to make it available to any party.
"In 1992 the judges in the Supreme Court said that it was a disgrace legislation had not come in. It will have to quantify the risk to the life of the mother, state what kind of procedures could take place, and what type of medical certification would be necessary."
Ms Grainne Healy, of the National Women's Council, said she wanted the parties to make their proposals part of their election statements.
"We must ask each party what they are proposing. It would be possible between now and the formation of a new government to have an agreement that before Christmas a Bill could be drawn up and rationally discussed and debated."
She also said that the National Women's Agency would be watching very carefully to see how effective the Crisis Pregnancy Agency was. "We want to see if this time next year there is a drop in the number of women going to England," she said.
Mr Tony O'Brien, of the Irish Family Planning Association, said: "We were told that it was vital that this Bill be passed to protect medical practice. Why was it vital two days ago and it is not vital now? We now have a definition of a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother, including the risk of suicide.
"The defeat of this referendum has defused what would have been a ticking time bomb."
He warned the Government against using the "Dana factor" as an excuse not to legislate. "She claimed victory for her campaign yesterday," he said. "She didn't campaign. She told The Irish Times how she was going to vote, and said she would not be campaigning. Ninety, maybe 98 per cent, of those who voted No rejected her and the Mother and Child Campaign position. All those who voted Yes rejected their position. They represent a tiny, extreme minority. It is extraordinary that Micheál Martin is relying on them as an excuse not to legislate."
Ms Alison Begas, chief executive of the Well Woman Centre, appealed for an effective Crisis Pregnancy Agency, with adequate resources.
"We are aware of people wanting to terminate a pregnancy because of childcare problems, commuting long distances, difficulty with affordable housing," she said. "These are quality of life issues. We also need to reconsider our attitudes to contraception and sex education, and examine the role of alcohol in crisis pregnancy."
Dr Peadar O'Grady, of Doctors for Choice, called for proper relationship and sexuality eduction, free contraception, non-directive counselling and the provision of abortion services in Ireland as part of a package to reduce the Irish abortion rate and the number of late abortions among Irish women.