The process for the upcoming referendum on March 6th is gravely flawed, undemocratic and unprecedented, an independent group of lawyers said today.
Calling for a "No" vote in the referendum, Lawyers Against the Amendment said this is the first time the Irish people have been asked to give constitutional status to a piece of legislation, the Protection of Human Life in Pregnancy Act.
"If the referendum is passed and the Oireachtas then in turn passes the act to give it legal effect and constitutional status, further changes or amendments can only be made in a referendum," said Ms Aoife Goodman, convenor of Lawyers Against the Amendment.
"This has serious ramifications for the role of the Oireachtas, as it will not have the power to amend legislation in the normal way. We are concerned about the precedent this will set for future referendums and about the removal of power from the Oireachtas that this entails".
"Even on purely procedural grounds, we should not be using this process to regulate matters of crisis pregnancy and abortion," Ms Goodman said.
The group also criticised the fact the full text of the amendment will not be provided to voters on their polling cards or at voting centres.
"In effect, the public are being asked to vote with blindfolds on," said Ms Goodman. "The making available of copies of the bill through the post offices is not an adequate substitute".