The Bishops' statement was considerably stronger in its support for the proposed referendum than the Government had expected and was warmly welcomed last night by the Taoiseach.
Mr Ahern said the statement "makes a positive contribution to the debate on the subject".
The bishops' support, coupled with that of the mainstream ProLife Campaign, gives a significant boost to the Taoiseach's efforts to show that significant middleground support is emerging for his proposed referendum.
The bishops' statement was also welcomed by Fine Gael's health spokesman, Mr Gay Mitchell, as "balanced and constructive". Labour's Liz McManus, however, said it showed that the referendum was only about rolling back the X case judgment allowing the threat of suicide as a ground for abortion.
The Bill enabling an abortion referendum is due to pass all stages in the Oireachtas today, the Taoiseach told the Dβil yesterday the Government intended to proceed with an abortion referendum.