Ruth Coppinger calls on Labour to support abortion bill

The Labour Party and Sinn Féin have been called on to support a bill to provide for a referendum on repealing the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.

Socialist Party TD Ruth Coppinger will table the bill on Friday. It will be voted on next Tuesday.

The bill will be the third tabled by the Opposition since 2012 aimed at liberalising the State’s abortion laws.

The Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, 1983 resulted in Article 40.3.3, which guarantees to vindicate as far as practicable the equal right to life of an unborn child and its mother.

The article has lead to an almost complete ban on abortion in the Republic.

Ms Coppinger said her bill would provide the Labour Party with a third opportunity to “repeal the Eighth Amendment and deal with the issue of abortion”.

In February, a bill tabled by Clare Daly TD to provide for abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities was defeated.

In April 2012, a bill to legislate for the X case, also tabled by Ms Daly, was defeated.

“It will be interesting to see how the Labour Party votes on this,” Ms Coppinger said.

“Now here they have an opportunity to hold to what is their official policy. I’d ask Labour not to turn their backs on women for a third time.

“We will also be expecting support from Sinn Féin, who didn’t support the previous two bills. Now they have adopted policy [on this issue] at their conference recently.

“So the young people, the women who they expect to get support from, will be looking at their vote on this.”

Ms Coppinger said that, if the Bill was passed, there could be a referendum in the autumn.

‘Final opportunity’

Janet Ní Shuilleabháin, of the Abortion Rights Campaign, said the bill could be the current Government’s “final opportunity to make a change for the thousands of women who need abortion care”.

Rita Harrold of Rosa (For Reproductive Rights, against Oppression, Sexism and Austerity), said no young woman of child-bearing age had had a vote “on this medieval amendment”, of which they were “the victims”.

“We are urging the Labour Party in particular to have some guts and deal with this issue. As long as the Government refuses to deal with this issue women will continue to travel, will continue to use [abortion] pills, because abortion is a reality of society.

“It can’t be avoided. It’s the 21st century. It’s time to hold a referendum and the majority of Irish people want a referendum and a growing majority of people want abortion rights for women who need an abortion.”

Sinéad Kennedy, of the Coalition to Repeal the Eighth, said the 1983 amendment was a “grave error and it continues to be a grave error”, one which discriminated against all women, but particularly against marginalised, migrant, lower-income, disabled or ill women.

Laura Duggan, of ICTU Youth, said abortion was “a women’s issue, a workers’ issue, and ultimately a class issue”.