The Tβnaiste, Ms Harney, has revised her previous opposition to a referendum on abortion because she is convinced that the primacy of the relationship between a pregnant woman and her doctor is fully protected under the proposed amendment to the Constitution.
There were people "on the extremes", she said yesterday, who would not support the proposals put forward by the Government, "but I think in the main people who are in the middle well see that this is a practical, workable solution to the issues that arise".
She and her colleagues had decided that suicide was not a reason for medical intervention when they heard the views of consultant psychiatrists Prof Anthony Clare and Dr John D. Sheehan before the All-Party Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution, she told RT╔'s lunchtime news.
Dr Sheehan in particular had said there was no fail-safe way of knowing that a person would commit suicide. "That's what influenced us." If the Government had opted for a "liberal abortion agenda", that would have required a referendum as well, she added.
There was no easy way of putting in place the legislation "that people want to see from either perspective" without putting it under the umbrella of constitutional protection.
The Government was prepared to have a full debate in the Oireachtas. "That clearly is very important for the Progressive Democrats and very important for the Government." Her PDs in government supported this way forward, she added, but since it was a conscience issue, she would not be advocating which way the party should vote or campaign.