A leading campaigner in last year’ referendum to repeal the Eighth amendment has called for further liberalisations of Ireland’s already permissive abortion law.

Professor of Obstetrics, Louise Kenny, made her comments after a woman was denied an abortion in the Coombe hospital because the disability afflicting her unborn child was deemed not likely to lead to death within 28 days of birth.

Professor Kenny alleges that because the predictions necessitated by the law are difficult if not impossible to make, doctors are denying abortions out of fear of getting them wrong and being prosecuted. “Medicine is not a binary science,” Professor Kenny said. “There are hundreds of conditions that can affect a pregnancy that may be fatal and would certainly be extremely life-limiting and there is uncertainty around diagnosis.”

In remarks to the Times, Ireland edition, she said that “the fact that there is a criminal element to the legislation means it has had a chilling effect on obstetricians. How can someone act in good faith if there is a custodial sentence? If you are on the wrong side of a decision you can face very serious consequences, so that has resulted in doctors, and hospitals acting in a very cautious way.”

She continued: “Most of us who worked as obstetricians believed that it was only a matter of time that a case like this would occur given the legislation that was passed — it’s bad legislation. None of us could have imagined it would happen so soon. I think it is worth revisiting the legislation and examining the criminal element and the need to define life-limiting conditions.”