Catholic group favours liberal abortion option

The Catholics For a Free Choice (CFFC) group has said it favours option 7 of those laid out by the Green Paper on abortion.

This would permit abortion where there was risk to the physical or mental health of the woman; in rape and incest cases; where there was congenital malformation; where there were economic or social reasons; and on request.

In a response to the Green Paper, it also said it was particularly concerned that the Catholic Hierarchy's continued assertion that its current position on abortion was the only true Catholic position prejudiced the debate on the issue. In March 1998 CFFC made a submission to the Interdepartmental Working Group on Abortion, offering input "from a pro-choice Catholic perspective".

It pointed out that "Catholic teaching and tradition, which stress the importance of conscience, leave room for a more nuanced position on abortion than that currently taken by the Hierarchy.

"The Catholic Church has acknowledged that it does not know when a foetus becomes a person and has not declared its teaching on abortion infallible."

CFFC also said many Catholics did not now support the church's position on abortion, while "the Irish system has instituted a separation between church and State that makes it inappropriate for church doctrine to substitute as public policy".

The Green Paper proposed seven options as possible solutions to the abortion controversy. Option 7 was the only one which was truly compassionate and reflected the social justice tradition of the Catholic Church as well as respect for the moral agency of women, CFFC said.

"Any solution that does not truly reflect the reality of women's experience will be shortlived." Otherwise "the issue will wind up in the courts again and again until a solution that is compassionate and realistic is codified into law", it said.

CFFC expressed disappointment that the Green Paper "did not more strongly address the need for separation of church and State in Ireland on this as well as other issues".

It was pleased the Green Paper recognised the reality of abortion in Ireland but remained concerned "about the undue influence of the current church leadership in this matter".

In a pluralist society in which many faith groups recognised the possibility of abortion's morality, "Catholics need not work to legally restrict abortion," it said.

"Current Catholic theology makes a clear distinction between the moral teachings of the Catholic Church and the right of legislators to use prudential judgment in developing public policy."

CFFC described as "a disservice to women" the Hierarchy's "equalisation of a fully formed human life with a potential life", and noted that just half of Ireland's Catholics believed abortion was always wrong where there was a risk of foetal abnormality.