The Pro-Life Campaign has reacted angrily to the position put forward by the Government during the "D" case before the European Court of Human Rights.
Asking the court to rule the case inadmissible because all domestic remedies had not been exhausted, the Government had argued that a foetus with a life-threatening abnormality might not be found eligible for constitutional protection by the Irish courts. The woman, D, might therefore have been able to obtain a legal abortion in Ireland, it said.
The spokeswoman for the Pro-Life Campaign, Dr Berry Kiely, said: "The Government's contention that unborn children with severe disabilities may not be entitled to constitutional protection is disgraceful and arbitrary. If abortion were permitted simply on grounds where the unborn child has a disability, it would severely undermine Ireland's ethos of care for its weakest members."
Even though some unborn children with severe disabilities may only live for a short time, "it is not the Government's place to deny their humanity. Rather it has a duty to provide the necessary social supports to help families in such difficult circumstances."
She said that the "muddled arguments" put forward by the Government in this case "typify the present Government's behaviour on a range of other right to life issues. An obvious example is its refusal to take a coherent stance in defence of the rights of the human embryo at home and abroad".
Dr Kiely warned: "The Government cannot behave pro-choice in government, then make pro-life noises on the eve of next year's general election and expect to win favour with pro-life voters."