Editor’s note. This comes from our friends at prolife.ie. Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil are Irish political parties and TD refers to a member of the lower house of the Irish Parliament.
Prime Minister Enda Kenny
As they note in a separate entry, “A staggering 86 per cent of voters believe that legislators should be allowed a free vote on the government’s abortion bill. … Taoiseach [Prime Minister] Enda Kenny has repeatedly insisted that his Fine Gael colleagues will not be allowed to vote according to their consciences, but even among Fine Gael voters support for a free vote is exceptionally high (74 per cent). The poll of 1,000 adults also found strong support for the idea of resolving the abortion issue by way of a referendum (86 per cent, excluding don’t knows).
“The whip system employed in Ireland is exceptionally rigid. In most other countries, votes in parliament on major issues of conscience such as abortion are free votes, respecting the conscience rights of parliamentarians.”
Forcing through the government’s abortion bill will come at a significant electoral price for Fine Gael according to a new poll. Almost half of Fine Gael voters said they would be less likely to vote for a TD or Senator who supported the abortion legislation. The poll, of 1,000 Irish adults, was conducted by Amárach Research.
The result confirms the findings of qualitative research through focus groups which found a strong desire to ensure that pregnant women receive high quality medical care but that abortion should be excluded.
The poll posed the question, “This July, TDs and Senators will vote on whether to legislate for the introduction of abortion in Ireland. If there was an election tomorrow, would you be more or less likely to vote for a TD or Senator who supports the introduction of abortion?”
Opposition to the legislation was strongest among Fianna Fáil voters. With don’t knows excluded, 58 per cent of these said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who supported the legislation. The second highest level of opposition was among Fine Gael voters, with 43 per cent saying they would be less likely to vote for those who support the legislation. Support for the legislation is strongest among Labour Party voters.
The polling company comments that “it is clear that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are the two parties most vulnerable to supporters being less likely to support those candidates who support the introduction of abortion.”