The Social Democrats’ attempt to amend the 2018 abortion legislation was resoundingly defeated. Although media coverage focused on the three-day reflection period for women seeking abortion, the Bill would also have widened the grounds for abortion for life-limiting conditions.

The current legislation states that an abortion can be carried out after two medical practitioners decide there is a condition “that is likely to lead to the death of the foetus either before, or within 28 days of, birth.”

The Bill would have removed the requirement for two medical practitioners and inserted that “there is present a fatal condition affecting the foetus”. This definition is ludicrously broad and reckless.

It is already increasingly difficult to predict the length of survival, even for babies with life-limiting conditions such as Trisomy 13 and Trisomy 18. One 2015 study of 693 children with T13 and 1,113 children with T18 found that for T13, nearly one in 10 is still alive aged five, while with T18, it is even higher at 12.3 per cent.

Cabinet split on proposed changes to abortion law as Greens back reform

Government urged to impose sanctions on Israel in same way De Valera did on Italy in 1935

Dáil rejects Social Democrats abortion reform Bill

Here’s an answer to the question that seemed to mystify ‘pro-life’ demonstrators

This allegedly progressive Bill would........

© The Irish Times