Pressure growing to make abortion legal here after Europe resolution
Political pressure on Ireland to decriminalise abortion is likely to increase after Europe's human rights watchdog passed a resolution yesterday calling for it to be legalised.
Ireland, Malta and Poland were singled out by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe for their failure to decriminalise abortion and allow termination of unwanted pregnancies subject to "reasonable" time limits.
The Labour Party's Joe Costello abstained but other Irish delegates voted against the resolution based on a report which they said failed to respect national laws on abortion, and is not binding on Ireland.
However, observers said resolutions passed at the Strasbourg Assembly can lead to international political pressure being applied to the Irish Government on the issue.
Despite Ireland's objections to the decriminalisation of abortion, the controversial resolution was passed by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE).
The resolution was based on a report which Irish Senator Terry Leyden claimed was "partisan and one-sided".
"We are disappointed with the result, but in an Irish context it is meaningless," said Pat Breen, the Fine Gael TD who led the Irish delegation.
The parliamentary assembly resolutions can be considered by the European Court of Human Rights whose decisions are binding on member states that have ratified the European Convention of Human Rights.
Pro-choice activist Senator Ivana Bacik said that while the vote is not legally binding, it could have both political and social repercussions.
"It adds to international political pressure but, more importantly, public opinion is changing in favour of decriminalisation," she said.
Anti-abortion campaigners said the resolution is flawed.
Dr Ruth Cullen of the Pro-Life Campaign said: "Many of the arguments put forward by council members promoting abortion are jaded and grossly out of touch with the most recent research," she said.
Before last night's vote, senior officials from PACE criticised the Irish Government's refusal to decriminalise abortion, thus "encouraging abortion tourism". It also criticised having a provision in our criminal code which states that women who abort their unborn foetuses can be jailed for life.
- Dearbhail McDonald and Allison Bray
