Doctors yesterday gave their backing, by a small margin, to abortion being made legal in cases of non-viable foetal anomalies.
But the divisive nature of the abortion debate was illustrated by doctors attending the annual conference of the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) in Galway being split down the middle on the issue.
They voted 55-52 — after two recounts — in favour of a motion calling on the Government to legislate for abortion for women who are pregnant with non-viable foetal anomalies.
But members voted by the same margin, 55-52, to reject a motion calling for the provision of abortion for women who become pregnant as a result of a criminal act such as rape or incest.
A third motion, calling on members of the ICGP to publicly back the Government in its commitment to introduce legislation and regulation for abortion where there is ‘a real and substantial risk’ to the life of the mother, was amended. The amended motion wants the ICGP to get the Government to introduce legal clarity on terminations founded on evidence-based medical guidelines for where there is a substantial risk to the life of the mother. The amended motion was passed by 60 votes to 48.
Dr John Delap, chairman of the ICGP, said the division among doctors illustrated the diverse views held by people on the subject of abortion.
“I’ve been on the executive of the College (ICGP) now for seven years and certainly this is the most controversial debate that we have had in that time. By and large decisions in the College are made by consensus. Clearly on this issue there is not consensus.
“It is no surprise that doctors, along with the rest of Irish society, hold a variety of opinions on the subject of abortion.
“And along with everybody else in recent months doctors have been considering the issues at stake and today we had a very mature discussion and debate among the members of the Irish College of GPs on three significant motions on the subject of termination of pregnancy,” he said.
Dr Delap said that the debate, which went on for three hours at the annual conference yesterday morning, was helpful for doctors.
“The role of doctors is to support their patients in reaching these difficult decisions. Nobody is in favour of abortion but in some circumstances women who find themselves pregnant feel that abortion is an option they want to consider.
“We discussed the instance of pregnancy in the case of rape or incest and the suggestion that abortion should be available under the law in Ireland was rejected by the members.
“We discussed the current issue with regard to termination of pregnancy when there is a real and substantive risk to the life of the mother and an amended motion was passed to call on the Government to introduce clarity on the law that is founded on best medical evidence when there was a real and substantive risk to the life of the mother.”
Dr Delap said the outcome on the motion calling on the Government to legislate for abortion in cases of non-viable foetal anomalies illustrated the divide. An initial show of hands indicated a rejection of the motion by 54-53, a second count of the floor delivered a 54-53 result in favour, before voting cards were collected and counted and the motion was carried by 55-52.
“The small margin gives you a fairly good indication of the divided opinion there is among doctors and as there is among other people in society but we had a very mature and honest debate,” he added.
The ICGP is the body responsible for education, training and standards in general practice. The College’s primary aim is to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice.