BRUTON REJECTS YOUNG FG ABORTION MOVE

FINE GAEL leader John Bruton moved swiftly, yesterday, to dissociate
himself from the party's youth wing after its national conference
voted on Saturday to pledge itself to campaign for the next 18 months
for legalised abortion within the first trimester.

But he could be facing trouble because his press office refused
point-blank to repudiate policy changes calling for the legalisation
of cannabis and the decriminalisation and Government regulation of
prostitution.

The refusal to reject the youth wing policy on cannabis was made in
the context that earlier in the day a director of a major European
anti-drugs project had called on Deputy Bruton to make a clear
statement dissociating himself from it.

"I'm calling on John Bruton to make a statement, a fair and straight
declaration repudiating the decision of the young members of his party
on legalising cannabis," Con O'Leary, the Irish director of the
European Cities Against Drugs group, said. "I am totally opposed to
this move. There are no such things as soft drugs. Everybody who is
fighting against drugs will be opposed to this decision."

It seems inconceivable that the party press office's refusal to put on
the record a public repudiation of the policy changes by Young Fine
Gael on drugs and prostitution genuinely reflects Deputy Bruton's
views in favour of either. But until the deputy makes his position
clear that, technically, could be the interpretation which we should
make.

The party press office was told that by rushing to dissociate himself
swiftly from the policy change on abortion, but saying nothing on
drugs and prostitution, Deputy Bruton seemed to be signalling that he
was in favour of the last two. "Young Fine Gael is an independent
organisation and we have no comment to make on its decisions to
legalise cannabis and prostitution," the press spokesperson said.

The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children and the European
Cities Against Drugs did, however, criticise Young Fine Gael, while a
Catholic bishop said that the Church's position on all three issues
was clear.

The title of the conference - The Just Society: Setting a New Agenda - was
perhaps indicative of the sort of radical left-liberal agenda which the
well-healed overwhelmingly middle and upper-class delegates espouse.

All three of the policy commitments were carried with comfortable
majorities.

On abortion, only proposals to have abortion on demand in the first
trimester or for when there might be a partial risk to the health or
life of the mother were rejected.

They voted for abortion in the first trimester where there is a real
and substantive risk to the life or health of the mother and where the
child has been conceived through rape or incest. Fine Gael National
Youth Officer - a paid position attached to Fine Gael headquarters -
Joanne Harmon, said she was pleased by the decisions taken and said
that she did not expect any criticism from the party as a whole.

However, John Bruton made a clear and emphatic statement, yesterday,
dissociating himself from the Young Fine Gael policy on abortion. "No,
I don't agree with it," he said. "If you have abortion in these
circumstances, you effectively have abortion on demand." He said that
in every other country where such provisions had existed which called
for a psychological evaluation of the mother, the result was that
abortion became a routine matter. That is not the right way to go," he
said. "An unborn child is an unborn child. It is not a thing, it is a
person. I believe that very strongly. You cannot deny the existence of
the unborn child. A child is a person who should be allowed to live.
We should not be making decisions to terminate their lives."

Dr Mary Lucey, the president of the Society for the Protection of
Unborn Children, attacked the move on abortion, but praised Deputy
Bruton's swift move to dissociate himself from it. "We would deplore
the position taken by Young Fine Gael and would hope that with more
maturity they will change their minds," she said. The Bishop of
Killaloo, Dr William Walsh, said that the position of the Catholic
Church on all three issues was clear and that any comment would be
made in the light of the Church's teaching.

Checked-by: derek rea