A legal challenge to the Medical Council's decision to liberalise ethical guidelines on abortion now appears imminent.
The Irish Times has established that the latest attempt by members of the council to reopen debate on the guidelines failed. Members of the Medical Council opposed to the changes are now likely to apply for a judicial review of the decision in the coming weeks.
Six members of the council who are against the new guidelines called an extraordinary meeting of the statutory body in an attempt to reopen the debate on the guidelines. The meeting was held on July 12th with the aim of discussing the validity of motions passed at a council meeting earlier this summer.
Barristers Mr Kevin Feeney and Mr Peter Charleton had advised that proposed new guidelines, which would allow for termination of pregnancy "where there is a real and substantive risk to the life of the mother" and "when the foetus is no longer viable" were not properly placed before the Medical Council.
However, at the extraordinary council meeting 10 days ago, a proposal to rescind the controversial motions did not succeed. A counter-proposal to defer further discussion on the matter until a scheduled meeting in September was carried. In its 1998 Guide to Ethical Conduct and Behaviour, the Medical Council states: "The deliberate and intentional destruction of the unborn child is professional misconduct. Should a child in utero suffer or lose its life as a side-effect of standard medical treatment of the mother, then this is not unethical."
One of the motions being challenged reads: "That the Medical Council recognises that termination of pregnancy can occur when there is a real and substantive risk to the life of the mother."
That motion sought to bring the ethical guide into line with the judicial findings of the X case.
The second motion passed was: "That the Medical Council recognises that termination of pregnancy can occur when the foetus is non-viable," introducing the possibility of abortion on wider grounds.
It is thought that eight council members in all are firmly opposed to a relaxation of abortion guidelines for the medical profession. The Medical Council has 25 members.
Sources have confirmed the minority group subsequently discussed the impasse with a team of legal advisers, and a decision to seek a High Court review of council procedure is thought to be imminent.