Fine Gael leader Mr Michael Noonan has promised to introduce legislation to give effect to the Supreme Court's "X" case judgment if his party is elected to government.
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Speaking at a combined Fine Gael, Labour and Green Party press conference today, Mr Noonan said his party would introduce a "substantial package of legislation" to provide statutory protection to the life of a suicidal pregnant mother.
Mr Ruairí Quinn also called for the issues surrounding abortion to be dealt with through legislation and not via constitutional referendums.
He said the upcoming referendum would introduce a law making abortion a criminal offence carrying a 12-year sentence. He said this would be inscribed in a constitutional law that could only be amended by another referendum.
Urging a No vote, the three parties said in a statement the amendment would restrict the right to life of some pregnant mothers whose lives are currently protected by the Constitution.
"The choice is about the X case, to repeal it or confirm it, not about abortion on demand," Mr Noonan said. "If this referendum is defeated, the law on abortion in Ireland will not change and while the Taoiseach may be prepared to turn his back on Ccases like X and C - we are not," he said.
Mr Noonan accused the government of rolling a complex issue into "a composite Yes or No campaign".
He said people were being asked to vote on a number of seperate issues, including the medical issue of defining a distinction between a woman's physical and mental health, rolling back the X case, and the introduction of a law making abortion a criminal offence carrying a 12-year sentence.
The three parties said they were confident the No campaign had won the moral argument and that there was now sufficient consensus among the electorate for a No vote to be carried.