Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 December 2015
477. Deputy Ruth Coppinger asked the Minister for Health his views on the letter signed by 838 doctors from 44 countries regarding the decriminalisation of abortion, that Amnesty International published recently (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42432/15]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, Article 40.3.3 of the Irish Constitution states that: 'The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right.'
Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution, as interpreted by the Supreme Court in Attorney General v X, provides that it is lawful to terminate a pregnancy in Ireland if it is established as a matter of probability that there is a real and substantial risk to the life, as distinct from the health, of the mother, which can only avoided by a termination of the pregnancy.
The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 was enacted on 30 July 2013 and commenced on 1 January 2014. It regulates access to lawful termination of pregnancy in accordance with the Xcase and the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the A, B and C v Ireland case.
The Government does not intend to propose any amendments to Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution at present.
