From the Church of Ireland

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 – Church of Ireland Working Group Submission

In May 2013, the Church of Ireland received an invitation to make a second submission to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children in relation to the Heads of Bills for the proposed Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013.

As established by the Standing Committee in January 2013, an Abortion Working Group prepared a response which has been duly submitted to the Joint Committee. The Standing Committee at its meeting of 18 June 2013 affirmed this response.

In its submission the Working Group articulated that the Church of Ireland emphasises the right to life and that this includes the right of the unborn, and that the Church of Ireland opposes abortion in principle but acknowledges that there are exceptional cases of ‘strict and undeniable medical necessity’ where it is and should be an option.

There is a variety of opinion within the Church of Ireland on what constitutes ‘exceptional cases’ but agreement that it includes circumstances where the continuation of the pregnancy poses a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother. This submission is available to consult at: http://ireland.anglican.org/information/17