The Labour Party's decision to back the availability of abortion in Irish hospitals in limited circumstances is "an important political milestone", the Irish Family Planning Association has said, writes Mark Hennessy.
Reacting to the vote at last weekend's Labour annual conference, the IFPA said it believed that Labour's "moderate" position represented "the middle ground of Irish public opinion".
"The apparent consensus within Labour and the subsequent low-level media focus and public reaction is indicative that there is an acceptance that, as a society, we must move forward on the issue," the association said.
Under the Labour proposal, abortion would be available if the mother is at risk of suicide, if her pregnancy poses a risk of "significant injury", or if the foetus has no chance of being born alive.
However, abortions would not be available in cases of rape and incest, except in the limited circumstances where it could be shown that a mother was suicidal as a result.
Labour, the IFPA said, recognised that "there should be a wider set of circumstances in which abortion would be available than is currently possible, or would be possible under the X case judgment".
However, it did not deal fully with the issue. Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution would have to be repealed fully before abortion services "reflecting all of the needs and circumstances of Irish women" could be made available.
"Even if the legislation along the lines of what is being proposed by the Labour Party was implemented, Irish women would still travel to Britain to access abortion services," the association went on.
Legislation to vindicate the right of a woman made suicidal by her pregnancy "is the very minimum required to give effect to the constitutional right to life of a pregnant woman, and is therefore welcome".
The association added that it was disappointing that the Labour Party proposed to deal only with a risk of significant injury to the physical health of the woman. The association did not believe that there were reasonable grounds for isolating the physical health from the overall health of a woman.