THE GOVERNMENT WILL spend up to ten hours next week debating the Expert Group report on abortion in the Dáil next week.
A bulk of time has been allocated in the Dáil schedule on Thursday and Friday to discuss the findings of the Expert Group on the A,B and C versus Ireland case.
This week, Independent TD Clare Daly’s abortion bill was defeated by 101 vote to 27 in the Dáil and a number of TDs used the debate on the bill to hit out at the leak of the report at the weekend.
Before the vote many opposition TDs voiced their support for legislation to give legal protection and clarity to pregnant women and their doctors.
However Independent TD Mattie McGrath, who opposed the bill, said he felt that the pro-choice side had used the recent Savita Halappanavar case as leverage for them before the full facts of the case are known.
While the Labour party voted down Daly’s bill last week, TD Anne Phelan said the party has not voted against the idea of legislating for abortion.
Deputy Phelan said that the party “is determined to act on the Expert Group report on abortion and I call on all concerned citizens to help us to deliver the necessary legislation and regulation”.
The government had made it clear before the vote that it would not be supporting the bill as it is currently considering bring forward its own measures to respond to the report.
Health Minister Dr James Reilly appealed to the members of the Dáil last week to participate in the planned debates over the next couple of weeks following the recent release of the report. He said that it is his earnest hope that a party consensus could be reached on the issue of legislating for the X Case.
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