Irish lawmaker threatens to break with party leadership on abortion bill

July 11, 2013: A junior minister in the Irish government has hinted that she may vote against a bill allowing for legal abortion, despite directions from her political party demanding support for the legislation.

Lucinda Creighton, the European affairs minister, said that she will not accept "bad law and breach of principle" regardless of party pressure. She said that although the leaders of her Fine Gael party have refused to allow a "conscience vote," lawmakers should "stand over our values and stand over our principles." However, she stopped short of saying that she would vote against the bill. Prime Minister Enda Kenny declined to engage in public debate with Creighton, saying that the Fine Gael party "deals with its own matter internally." Kenny has refused to allow a conscience vote.

Kenny also rejected Creighton's call to removal a provision of the bill that allows for legal abortion if a pregnant woman threatens suicide. Kenny claimed that dropping that provision would make the bill "unconstitutional."
(Source: CWN)