Even without Article 40.3.3 protecting the life of the unborn, the Irish Constitution would outlaw abortion, according to the anti-abortion group, Family and Life. It is seeking a new amendment to the Constitution affirming a total ban on abortion.
In its submission to the Interdepartmental Working Group on Abortion, Family and Life states: "The Irish Constitution has a Christian character that permeates it from start to finish.
"It begins with an acknowledgement of the Holy Trinity `from Whom is all authority and to Whom as our final end all actions both of men and States must be referred . . .' and `Humbly acknowledging all our obligations to our Divine Lord, Jesus Christ, who sustained our Fathers through centuries of trial . . .,' it states. "This part of the Constitution alone would be sufficient to outlaw abortion as `an unspeakable crime'."
The submission by Family and Life disputes the contention that it would be impossible to find a formulation for a new amendment to the Constitution.
It proposes a wording for a new amendment to the Constitution, as follows:
"a. The unborn child shall have, from the moment of conception, the same right to life as the child born alive. b. Where abortion is understood to signify the intentional killing of the unborn, no law shall be enacted, nor shall any provision of this Constitution be interpreted, so as to render abortion lawful."