A preliminary Dáil vote in favour of a radical expansion of Ireland’s already permissive abortion regime has been met with dismay by pro-life representatives.

The bill by People Before Profit TD, Bríd Smith, would, if passed into law, permit abortion on request up to birth among other things. Tuesday night’s vote in favour of it moving to committee stage passed by 67 votes to 64 with 8 abstentions.

Commenting on the result, Eilis Mulroy of the Pro Life Campaign said when members of the public realise what is in the bill, “they will be disgusted”.

“It is a bill that shows zero respect for the rights of unborn babies. Many of those who voted in favour of this evening’s bill voted against a bill in the Dáil less than two years ago that would have allowed humanitarian pain relief to be given to unborn babies prior to late term abortions. There really are no words to describe how cold and uncaring some members of the Dáil have become when it concerns the issue of protecting defenceless and innocent unborn babies. When the people voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment in the 2018 referendum, they certainly didn’t vote for abortion on request throughout the entire nine months of pregnancy.”