Fianna Fáil has delayed taking a decision on whether to support the Government’s proposed abortion legislation after a meeting of the parliamentary party yesterday.

Reports suggest that the party leadership wished to see the party support the legislation, but that a majority of the party opposed this option.  

The party leadership wants to support the proposed bill despite the fact that party leader Micheal Martin told The Irish Examiner last year that he was against legislating on the suicide ground

According to The Irish Independent, a majority of party TDs and Senators at a meeting yesterday were against the draft legislation, the Protection of Life in Maternity Bill, 2013.  

Health spokesman Billy Kelleher, who was briefed on the proposed legislation by Health Minister James Reilly, took questions from party colleagues on the planned law.

Members gave Mr Kelleher a list of queries to put to the Oireachtas health committee on their behalf when it proceed with fresh hearings on the Bill.

A decision on whether or not to support the Bill has been put back until after the Oireachtas Health Committee hearings on the legislation.

The committee announced yesterday that it is to hold hearings on the legislation over three days later this month.

The committee chaired by Fine Gael TD Jerry Buttimer, which heard expert witnesses in January, will sit on May 17th, 20th and 21st to discuss the proposal, the Irish Times reports.

Mr Buttimer and his colleagues on the committee met yesterday morning to discuss how to proceed and agreed to invite “key medical and legal experts” to address the committee.

He said the hearings would be “focused and concentrated” on the broad outline of the Bill, with contributions also being sought from interested members of the public.

“We’ll be asking people who wish to make a written submission to do so in a very concise way outlining in a two-page summary . . . what they want and then on a head-by-head basis after that,” Mr Buttimer said.

Meanwhile, the Pro Life Campaign (PLC) has accused Fine Gael of “playing politics” with the abortion issue after Environment Minister Phil Hogan claimed that the party had been forced to go back on its election pro-life promise because of the ruling by the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in 2011.

Mr Hogan said that Fine Gael could not keep its pro-life commitment because of the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in 2011 that Ireland had to legislate to implement the constitutional right to abortion. 

Only for that, he said, Fine Gael would have preferred “regulations and medical guidelines”  to set out directions to doctors in the event of a threat to the life of the mother.

However, the ECHR ruling took place in December 2010, three months before the election.

PLC spokesperson Caroline Simons said: “Fine Gael gave its election commitment in full knowledge of what the Court had ruled.”

Ms Simons continued, “For the record, Ireland is not required to legislate for the X case to implement the Strasbourg judgement. Ireland could introduce strong guidelines on life-saving procedures for all physical conditions, including those that arose in the case before the European Court. 

“The sad fact, which Minister Hogan’s ‘explanation’ reveals, is that the Fine Gael leadership has been playing politics with what is a life-and-death issue. It is appalling to see the usual political spin taking place.

“Other examples of the Government spin include the claim that the Government is not proposing to change the law and that Ireland’s Constitution will prevent the proposed legislation from leading to widespread abortion.

“Both these claims are bogus. The truth is that the Government is proposing to activate our existing constitutional position in the most dangerous way imaginable, and with tragic consequences for human life.”