TDs rejected an attempt to put a radical pro-abortion bill on the Dail agenda by a vote of 73 to 71 on Tuesday night.

The Private Members Bill, if it went into law, would completely decriminalise abortion, abolished the mandatory three-day waiting period and loosened restrictions on abortion up to birth where the unborn child has a life limiting condition.

While the bill was touted by People Before Profit TD, Paul Murphy, it received the support of some Government Ministers, including Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Helen McEntee, Jack Chambers and James Lawless.

The Pro Life Campaign warmly welcomed the result with spokesperson, Eilís Mulroy, saying it “shows that many TDs are taking stock of the dramatic increase in abortions since the law changed and of the disturbing realities now emerging under the current legislation”.

“This includes the many testimonies of women who regret their abortions and who say they felt pressured under the current system toward abortion and weren’t offered any information beforehand about alternatives”.