Mayo FF TD votes against government over blocking abortion bill

MAYO Deputy Lisa Chambers was one of the five Fianna Fáil TDs who voted against a government amendment that blocked a bill to allow a referendum on abortion.

The Dáil approved the amendment by 96 votes to 47 and blocked the Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit (AAA-PBP) Bill from being read a second time. Sinn Féin, Labour, the Green Party and the Social Democrats voted with the AAA-PBP.

Cork North-Central TD Billy Kelleher, Limerick TD Niall Collins, Mayo TD Lisa Chambers, Kildare South TD Fiona O’Loughlin and Clare TD Timmy Dooley voted against the government amendment on the issue.

Party whip and Cork North-West TD Michael Moynihan abstained, as did Independent TD Maureen O’Sullivan. A majority of Fianna Fáil’s deputies voted with the government. The party had allowed its TDs a free vote on the issue.

The dissenting party members supported the bill which had been introduced by Dublin West TD Ruth Coppinger and Dublin South-Central TD Bríd Smith.

It proposes a referendum to remove from the Constitution the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn.

However, an amendment agreed between the Fine Gael and Independent Alliance coalition government prevented a vote on the legislation, the 35th Amendment of the Constitution (Repeal of the Eighth Amendment) Bill.

Independent Alliance members insisted on a free vote on abortion and to avoid another bitter split in Cabinet, Fine Gael and the Independents in government agreed a deal, after late night talks, preventing a vote on abortion.