A bill to permit abortions on the grounds of mental health has been signed into law by Irish President Michael D Higgins and will now be added to the Irish statute book.
The decision comes following a five hour meeting to discuss the legislation between President Higgins and his advisory body, the Council of State.
Supreme Court
Talks were allegedly held on whether the bill should be referred to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality.
Following the discussion, the bill was signed into law by the President who decided against referring the legislation to the Court.
The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 will allow terminations to “eliminate the risk of self-destruction,” where the mother is threatening to commit suicide.
The Pro Life Campaign said the signing of the bill into law was “a very sad day for our country”.
Expelled
The legislation cleared Parliament in a vote of 127 to 31 last month, and saw the expulsion of Fine Gael’s Lucinda Creightonfor voting against the suicide clause.
Fine Gael members – Peter Mathews, Terence Flanagan, Billy Timmins and Brian Walsh - were also excluded from the party for refusing to support the legislation in a parliamentary vote.
Leader of Fine Gael, Enda Kenny, refused to offer his party a free vote on the issue.
Savita
The legislation comes following the death of Savita Halappanavar, a 31 year-old woman who died in Galway hospital after suffering from blood poisoning thought to have been caused by a miscarriage.
The reporting of the case caused public outcry, with the pro-abortion lobby using the incident to demand that Ireland’s abortion laws be reviewed.
Shortly after, the Cabinet announced the Government’s intention to change Ireland’s abortion laws to permit abortions where the mother threatens suicide.
Criticism
But critics pointed out that Ireland’s abortion laws already permit terminations where there is a “real and substantial” physical risk to the mother’s life, and that changing the law will lead to the procedure being available “on demand”.
Furthermore, health experts in maternal care, including leading obstetricians and psychiatrists, have rejected claims that abortion is a “solution” for suicidal inclinations.
No evidence
The head of St. Patrick's University Hospital, Ireland's leading psychiatric hospital, said that there is “no evidence either in literature or from the work of St. Patrick's University Hospital that indicates that termination of pregnancy is an effective treatment for any mental health disorder or difficulty.”
In June, Professor David Fergusson of the University of Otago in New Zealand published a research paper also concluding that there was no evidence that abortion reduces mental health consequences for women.
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