The All-Party Committee on the Constitution is expected to finalise its report on abortion next week. The report will set out three approaches to abortion, reflecting the positions of the three main parties, after the committee failed to reach consensus.
It is understood the committee decided yesterday not to include any conclusions or observations on abortion in the report, but to outline the three approaches.
The Fianna Fail approach, which has PD backing, is to legislate for abortion in the circumstances of the X case but excluding the risk of suicide. This proposal would be put to a referendum.
A strategy to leave the law unchanged and to start a £50 million plan to set up a State agency to reduce the number of crisis pregnancies is being proposed by Fine Gael in the latest draft.
The plan to reduce crisis pregnancies is supported by all parties.
The Labour Party advocates legislation to provide for abortion in accordance with the Supreme Court judgment in the X case. This would permit abortion where there was a real and substantial threat to the life of the mother, including the risk of suicide.
The committee, chaired by Fianna Fail TD Mr Brian Lenihan, will meet again next Tuesday. The draft report is expected to be finalised at this meeting and then sent for printing. It will be presented to the Cabinet subcommittee on abortion for consideration.
This week Independent TD Mr Jackie Healy-Rae said he was joining his three Independent colleagues supporting the Government in demanding a referendum on abortion.