Irish Catholic Bishops have criticised the Government for "changing the narrative" on abortion.
This morning, a message was due to issued to people attending masses nationwide this morning.
The two-page document entitled 'Abortion: Changing the Narrative', will also be distributed in churches, to mark five years since the referendum.
The bishops' statement follows a decision by the Government to refer a recently published review of abortion law - which includes legislative reform recommendations - to the Oireachtas joint committee on health.
In the document, the Irish Catholic Bishops say they remain convinced that the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act, 2018 will, in due course, be repealed.
In it, they welcome statements by a number of Oireachtas members who do not wish to see a liberalisation of the current law.
"We will continue, however, to encourage a greater political acceptance that abortion is not the solution to a crisis pregnancy," they say.
The bishops say the recommendations in the review are "clearly aimed" at making the act "more effective in that taking of human life".
Among the issues addressed in the document is the three-day waiting period between the first medical consultation and termination.
The review conducted by barrister Marie O’Shea says this section of the act should be amended to substitute the three-day waiting period with a mandatory obligation on medical practitioners to advise the pregnant woman that she has a statutory right to a reflection period, which she may exercise, at her own discretion.
The bishops oppose this recommendation because they say it would weaken protection for women and babies.
Neither do they accept the recommendation that the 12-week period be extended under certain circumstances
While they acknowledge it is not clear how many of the large number of GPs who are not providing abortions are doing so on the grounds of conscience, they state that it is "certainly much higher than the 26% suggested in the review".
On proposed legislation for safe access zones, they say that limiting the right to peaceful assembly is "not the action of a State which purports to present itself as having liberal-democratic values".
It's their belief that those who "conscientiously oppose abortion as a crime against humanity" must be free to "express their concerns in a respectful non-violent manner" in public.
Ms O’Shea’s review found that criminalisation of medical practitioners, where grounds are not sufficiently clear, was a barrier to accessing abortions.
She noted that the UN had recommended full decriminalisation and had suggested removing medical practitioners from criminal sanctions.
The Irish Catholic Bishops have rejected that recommendation on the grounds that "nobody should be above the law when it comes to protecting human life".
The document tells people of faith to be confident in sharing their pro-life views in homes, workplaces and amongst friends.
It also asks them to "be present to women in crisis pregnancy" and to sign up to the pray for life Novena which takes place at the end of May.
