THE PRO LIFE Campaign, which campaigns under the Love Both banner, says that it “hasn’t gone away” and that it will fight to reinstate a law that specifically protects the unborn.

The group was speaking in Dublin today in its first press conference since the Eighth Amendment was repealed in a landslide vote.

The press conference outlined the “core principles” the group believes should underpin any legislation which comes in place of the Eighth.

These principles include the provision of counselling services, no prenatal discrimination on sex or disability grounds and that records of the number of abortions be kept and published.

The group also affirmed its commitment to “working towards the day when women and their unborn babies are once again fully protected in law” in Ireland.

Asked what form that work would take including mass demonstration or picketing of abortion providers, spokesperson Cora Sherlock said that it was undecided.

“Pro-life people are very disappointed in the result but they are certainly not giving up on the cause of protecting unborn life.

“We aren’t talking about any demonstrations just yet, what we are talking about is lobbying politicians and informing them and the public about what is involved in abortions and the need to protect the unborn.

“Our plans will develop but we’re certainly not going away.”

Asked if that meant working towards a full reinstatement of the Eighth, the group’s legal advisor Professor William Binchy said that “was not a bad starting point”.

“The Eighth Amendment actually ensured unborn children and their mothers received the best care.

“One doesn’t have to say that the exact wording is dusted down and put back into the constitution, but the principle that you do not take unborn, innocent human life is a clear principle.”