DUBLIN, Ireland, June 21 (UPI) -- Dr. James Reilly, the Irish minister of health, opened debate on an abortion bill Thursday by saying it would assure women their lives will be protected.
Reilly also said the bill, by bringing abortion into the open, would allow officials to determine if some hospitals appear to be performing too many abortions, The Irish Times reported.
"More importantly, Irish women can be assured that everything possible will be done to save their lives in Irish hospitals," he said.
The bill follows guidelines laid down in a 1993 Supreme Court ruling that abortion is permissible when needed to save a pregnant women's life, including cases where women appear to be at risk of suicide. The legislation was given new urgency by the death last year of a woman who developed an infection after she went into labor at five months and doctors refused to terminate the pregnancy while they could still detect a fetal heartbeat.
Abortion has been illegal in Ireland since independence and the Constitution was amended in 1983 to say that unborn children have a right to life. The Catholic Church opposes the proposed law, which would, for the first time, legalize abortions, although in very limited circumstances.
"I firmly believe that this legislation strikes the right balance in providing legal clarity around rights which already exist, while at the same time providing the clearest reassurance that any attempt to abuse this legislation will be thwarted," Reilly said.
