Irish Reject Tougher Abortion Law

The Irish Republic yesterday rejected a government proposal to tighten the country's strict anti-abortion regulations by the narrowest of margins - less than 1%, or just over 10,500 votes.

A total of 618,485 people (49.5%) voted for and 629,041 (50.4%) opposed a constitutional amendment that would have guaranteed that a woman could not get a termination in Ireland on the grounds that she was suicidal because of an unwanted pregnancy and would have made her liable to 12 years in jail for attempting an abortion.

Bertie Ahern, the Irish prime minister, who had the support of the Catholic church for his very strong personal opposition to abortion, admitted that he was disappointed.

This is his government's second referendum defeat within a year as the Irish people turned down the Nice treaty plans for EU enlargement last June, and comes as he prepares for the general election in May.

But he insisted that the close result reflected the wide spectrum of opinion on a very contentious issue, for which there was no simple answer, indicating that he will not rush to legislate on abortion if re-elected taoiseach.

An estimated 7,000 Irish women travel to England every year for abortions. The pro-choice lobby has accused the government of hypocrisy in exporting a problem it is unwilling to face up to.

Turnout was low, around 45%, and the big urban/rural divide mirrored the liberal/conservative split, with most Dubliners voting against the amendment and many country constituencies returning large majorities in favour.

The contest also reflected the confusion surrounding the proposal, and division in the pro-life camp, with some ultra-right representatives, notably Dana, the Eurovision winner-turned-MEP, claiming the government was not going far enough to protect life from the moment of fertilisation.

Dana (Rosemary Scallon) said yesterday that the refer endum should not be read as defeat for the pro-life lobby. "In no way can the No vote be interpreted as a wish for more liberal abortion laws," she said. "The wording of this referendum was deeply flawed. "

Pro-choice groups said yesterday that they were relieved the amendment was rejected and said there was a strong public desire, borne out by recent opinion polls, for clear legislation. But in practical terms, the referendum result will make little difference.

The vote arose out of a 1992 supreme court judgment, which ruled that a suicidal 14-year-old, identified only as X, who became pregnant after being raped, could have an abortion.

But this was never followed through with legislation. Mr Ahern wanted to make sure the case could not be used to liberalise Ireland's already stringent anti-abortion laws.

Irish doctors can only terminate a pregnancy if a woman's life is in immediate danger. Abortion is not allowed in cases of rape, incest or foetal abnormality.

Irish women have had terminations in private clinics in England for decades but it only became legal for counselling services in Ireland to provide information on abortion from 1995. All this would have remained unchanged whether the amendment succeeded or failed.

Michael Noonan, leader of the main opposition Fine Gael party, which was against the amendment, as were Labour, the Greens and Sinn Fein, agreed that public opinion was divided but said the government must face up to the abortion question with legislation.

"Dealing with this issue through legislation will require leadership, something the taoiseach has so far singularly failed to provide," said Mr Noonan, who has said he would legislate for abortion in very limited circumstances if women were at risk of suicide.