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The Irish Government has decided to set up an expert group to examine whether changes to legislation are required to clarify the circumstances when women can have an abortion, according to The Irish Times. The group  will consist of medical and legal experts who will be asked to make recommendations to the Government to ensure Irish law complies with the European Convention on Human Rights.
 
The group is being set up as part of a Government “action plan” developed in response to a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights on an Irish case last December. In this case, the court ruled Ireland had failed to properly implement the right to abortion established by the Supreme Court in the 1992 X case. This judgement said there should be access to an abortion in circumstances where a woman’s life is deemed to be at risk because of pregnancy, including the risk of suicide.
 
Under procedures laid down by the Strasbourg court, the Government was given six months to prepare a plan outlining the actions it has taken to execute the judgement and actions that it intends to take. The deadline to send the action plan to the Council of Europe, expired on June 16. A Government spokesman confirmed that work was continuing on the submission but could not comment on the detail of the plan. It is understood the plan will confirm a proposal agreed between Fine Gael and Labour in the programme for government to establish a group to address this issue.
 
In the run-up to the general election, Labour leader Eamon Gilmore disagreed with Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny’s analysis that the European court’s ruling on Ireland’s abortion laws should be looked at by an all-party committee of the Oireachtas. He said the Oireachtas should bring in legislation to allow abortion in circumstances where the mother’s life or health was at risk.
 
Prof William Binchy, legal adviser to the Pro Life Campaign, said the Government should make clear that the Irish people, not Europe, would determine policy on protecting the lives of unborn children. “It is a misrepresentation to claim that Ireland is under any obligation to legislate to introduce abortion,” he said. 
The Irish Times. June 16.