FORMER High Court judge, Mr Justice Rory O'Hanlon, yesterday called for a referendum to outlaw abortion here "in all circumstances" and said he was sure this would become an issue in the general election campaign.
As a Garda investigation got under way into an alleged abortion in Dublin in 1995, he said opponents of abortion "would be campaigning very strongly for a new referendum" during coming months. Following the 1992 Supreme Court judgment in the X case, he said, there was "no restraint whatsoever"' on when an abortion might be performed in this country. It could take place "right up to full term".
He was also critical of the Abortion Information Act which supplied information about pregnancy termination "regardless of how barbaric" the abortion laws might be in a given country. There was very strong feeling all over the country" on the issue, and in favour of a referendum.
Mr Tony O'Brien, of the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), said a referendum or the outright banning of abortion in this country would have had little effect in the circumstances of the case reported on yesterday, if it was illegal. He opposed another referendum on the issue, saying the Pro-Life movement "failed completely" to come up with a form of words on the matter, which would resolve the situation.
"In 1983 they told us their form of words would deal with the issue once and for all," he said. "How many times do they want to insert new wording into the Constitution [on the issue]?" But "it never lets up," he said.
Mr O'Brien pointed out that if abortion were to be banned outright, the life of the unborn child would then take precedence over the life of the mother in all circumstances, and in critical circumstances her life would necessarily be sacrificed.
Mrs Nora Bennis of the National Party, said she would like to know more about the case "as a mother" before commenting. She said she had "a huge problem with traumatic stories exposed in the public arena" and would like "to know the feelings" of the woman concerned before saying anything. "There's the human dimension. I have known too many women hurt by abortion," she said.
Ms Olive Braiden, of the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre, said it was its policy never to comment on the abortion issue. When pregnancy occurred as a result of rape the woman concerned was referred to CURA and the IFPA, before beginning counselling.
A spokesman for the Pro-Life Campaign described the reports as "shocking and dreadfully sad". His group believed "that there should be a clear, constitutional prohibition on abortion" in Ireland, and as a preliminary step, called on "the Government and other party leaders to undertake - in principle, to ensure that abortion is clearly prohibited, and to focus their attention on agreeing a constitutional formula to achieve this". The choice lay "between allowing abortion and prohibiting it," he said.
Ms Noreen Byrne, chairwoman of the National Women's Council of Ireland, said they were "very surprised" by reports that an abortion may have been carried out in Ireland. There had never been any indication over the past 15 years that abortion was being performed here.
She expressed concern for the privacy of the woman involved, and said the council would suspend conclusions pending a decision by the DPP and a possible court action. She also opposed the notion of holding another referendum on the issue. History showed it would not reduce abortions among Irishwomen.
Dr Gerard Casey, of the Christian Solidarity Party, said he was "shocked but not surprised" at yesterday's reports. Since 1992 his group had been arguing "that the mess resulting from the X case" would result in just such a situation.
"Abortion is now, as it should be, an election issue," he said, and the electorate "have a right to know where every politician stands on this issue". More to the point they have a right to know "where every political party stands on this issue", he said.
Mr Peter Scully, of the Family and Life group, said he was shocked by the story. If true it is "contrary to Irish law and thee rules of the Irish Medical Council", he said, and in that event his group would call for the closure of the clinic involved and the prosecution of the person who performed the abortion.
He also called on the Medical Council to launch its own investigation into the matter, and to strike off the register any doctor found to have performed an abortion. He pointed out that legalised abortion was rejected by the Irish people in 1983 and 1992, but said that the X case judgment highlighted "the need for a new pro-life referendum". They will be advising members to lobby local politicians accordingly, he said.
Mr Maurice Colgan, of Youth Defence, "demanded" that the doctor involved in the case "be charged with murder". "Any doctor who has such contempt for the most fundamental of human rights - that of one's right to life - must face the penalty due for such a criminal act," he said.
He called on groups such as the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children "to prove their commitment and join Youth Defence with other in their fight for children's lives".
He also demanded an end to "the conspiracy of silence regarding the real nature of abortion" and queried whether the reports in yesterday's news was "another chance for the media and other supporters of abortion to rant and rave about `choice', the choice to have babies killed",
