No new abortion poll if Yes loses, says Leo
‘I wouldn’t be happy about it but I’m a democrat’
LEO Varadkar has ruled out a second abortion referendum in the event of the No side winning.
‘Not in the foreseeable future, not under this Government or Dáil,’ he said.
He wouldn’t be happy if it was defeated, ‘but I am a democrat so I have to accept the outcome of referendums and elections’, he added.
The Taoiseach and Cabinet members were canvassing during the early morning commute in Dublin.
When asked if voters could trust politicians on the issue, he retorted: ‘The reality is they do, they trust politicians in Westminster to make that decision.
‘The reality is the laws that apply in Ireland are effectively the laws that apply in England, because nine women every day take the boat or plane to England, so this isn’t about trusting politicians.’ Asked if he had done enough for the campaign, he said: ‘I’ve a busy job and there are lots of other things on the agenda, as you know.
‘But certainly, it is the Government that I lead for just under a year now, just under a year when I became Taoiseach, and I said we would have the referendum within a year. A lot of people doubted that, but it’s happening next Friday. I have delivered on that commitment and certainly I am campaigning nearly every other day, any time I can find time, in between my other duties as Taoiseach.’
He was asked about current laws, which state that if someone ‘intentionally’ destroys ‘unborn human life’ they can face a maximum jail term of 14 years, and if that should be reviewed if the referendum is
‘Voters will be struck by the Bill’
defeated, although it is not being enforced. He said it ‘could be enforced into the future’. He condemned Love Both posters featuring a parent with their Down Syndrome child, saying: ‘We have made it very clear in the proposed legislation that disability will not be the grounds to end a pregnancy.’
However, Audrey O’Dowd, whose son Conor has Down Syndrome, joined Love Both at a press conference yesterday. She reacted to Health Minister Simon Harris branding the posters ‘disgusting’, saying he does not represent her or her son. Conor made a video for the pro-life campaign.
She said a lot of parents and young people were ‘very concerned behind the scenes’.
She added: ‘It’s supports we need. Minister Harris should be putting in the supports and not eliminating us.’
Pro-life campaigner Cora Sherlock said: ‘Conor is just one of the people with Down Syndrome who have come forward in the last few weeks to speak out against the Government’s abortion proposals.’ She said there is no restriction in the proposed legislation for disabilities.
Barrister Benedict Ó Floinn said: ‘I think, as people read the Bill in particular, they’ll be struck by the proposals. I think there is such force in reading the Bill that anybody who reads it will struggle to do anything other than vote No.’ He said people should read the Bill.