The Pro Life Campaign has said today’s vote for abortion by the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment is “a total betrayal of women and their unborn babies and represents a tragic drift backwards for society rather than a step forward. Anyone who tries to suggest that today’s vote is not for abortion on demand is telling a lie.”

The PLC was commenting after the committee voted to recommend abortion on wide-ranging grounds, up to 12 weeks on request and up to birth on health grounds that are not and cannot be defined. Speaking on behalf of the Pro Life Campaign, Cora Sherlock said: “The decision to opt for a time limit of 12 weeks on request was plucked from thin air. It reveals a frightening disregard for the right to life of the most innocent and defenceless members of society, namely unborn babies. Also, the vote in favour of abortion on physical and mental health grounds is even more radical than abortion laws in other countries like England, where 1 in 5 pregnancies now ends in abortion.

Commenting on the extreme nature of today’s vote, Ms Sherlock said: “When any group is handed the power to decide who’s in and who’s out, it follows that they feel they have permission to conclude that no unborn babies are deserving of any protections under the law. And that’s effectively what the committee decided today. She continued: “But thankfully they won’t have the final say on the Eighth Amendment. The electorate will have that responsibility and I am confident they will vote to keep it.