Irish Times Campaigning for Pro-Choice Again?

The Irish Times has a massively misleading headline on the website this evening, I'm disappointed in them.  The headline reads "POLL SUGGESTS OVERWHELMING SUPPORT FOR PROPOSED ABORTION REFERENDUM." In the piece, it explains that: "Asked if they were for or against the heads of the Bill to legislate for the Supreme Court X judgment of 1992 permitting abortion where a mother’s life is in danger, 75 per cent said Yes, 14 per cent said No and 11 per cent had no opinion."  In the second last paragraph, however, it adds "Asked if abortion should be allowed where a woman is threatening suicide 52 per cent said Yes, 29 per cent said No and 19 per cent had no opinion." 

There are a tiny few who would argue against the preservation of the life of the mother when it's either one or the other; however, it is only where suicide is included as grounds for an abortion that it becomes contentious.  Given the margin of error in the poll is 3%, the headline on this piece could just as easily read "SUPPORT FOR SUICIDE AS GROUNDS FOR ABORTION TOO CLOSE TO CALL".  Similarly, the questions were leading - not mentioning suicide in the main question was disingenuous, notwithstanding the reference to the X Case.  The phrase "mother's life is in danger" is not sufficient to represent suicide.

This isn't news, it's campaigning politics, plain and simple. I'd expect more.  And - just in case you thought otherwise, I'm in favour of the legislation including suicide as grounds.