Irish MPs Reject Easing of Abortion Rules

Ireland’s parliament on Wednesday evening rejected a bill by the Social Democrats that sought to liberalize abortion laws, voting 85 to 30 against the proposal, with 36 abstentions.

The legislation would have removed the mandatory three-day waiting period and decriminalized abortion. It also proposed lifting the 12-week limit in cases where the unborn child is diagnosed with a life-limiting condition. MPs were given a free vote.

Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said ahead of the vote that she could not support the bill on legal or practical grounds. She told Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns that the proposal amounted to “blanket decriminalisation”.

During a tense debate, she added that Cairns had adopted the “broadest possible definition” of decriminalisation. “There is no point in shaking your head at me”, the minister said.

After the vote, Aontú senator Sarah O’Reilly described the outcome as “a good day for the baby in the womb” and called the bill “extreme”.

(gript, bak)