Abortion liberalisation ‘may be opposed’ by some Cabinet members

25th April 2023

The key recommendations of a review of Ireland’s abortion laws are likely to face resistance among some members of the Cabinet when it meets tomorrow, according to a report in the Irish Times. All the proposals are aimed at making it even easier to abort an unborn child.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin have both expressed caution about implementing some of the legislative changes recommended in the report by barrister Marie O’Shea.

Particular focus will now fall on Ministers in the Cabinet who voted “No” in the referendum, or who shifted their position in the run-up to the vote. Minister for Enterprise Simon Coveney was one of the leading political figures who changed his mind in advance of the referendum. He said at the time his ‘Yes’ vote was predicated on strong safeguards and protocols to guarantee a balance between abortion and the right to life.

Other Cabinet members such as Minister for Finance Michael McGrath and Minister for Housing Darragh O’Brien both voted against repealing the Eighth Amendment and have yet to comment on the review.