The motion, which was brought forward by Cllr Renagh Donaghey from Buncrana, was backed by a majority of county councillors.
Cllr Donaghey motion’s calls on the Council to act in keeping with the will of the Irish people as emphatically expressed in the referendum of 1983.
Cllr John Campbell moved an amendment that the referenda of 1992 and 2002 also be included, and the Council note that an expert group on abortion is to report in September.
However, that was rejected, and Cllr Donaghey’s original motion was passed with seventeen councillors backing it, six abstaining and one voting against the motion.
The vote was welcomed by Cathal Quinn, spokesperson for Donegal For Life.
Commenting on the result of the vote, Pro Life Campaign spokesperson, Cora Sherlock said, “The members of Donegal County Council have shown that they recognise that Ireland, without abortion, is the safest country for women when pregnant.”
She added, “It is a tribute to the councillors that they have seen through the misinformation that is currently being spread suggesting that Ireland is obliged to introduce abortion. This is simply not the case. The people of Donegal should be proud of their local representatives for championing the rights of the most vulnerable members of society.”
Pat Buckley, President of the National Association of Catholic Families (NACF), also welcomed the result.
“It is good to see that Donegal County Council are not only conscious of the real and substantial threat to the unborn that currently exists in Ireland but that they are willing to make their views known through this important resolution,” he said.
He called on other county councils to follow Donegal’s lead, “in prioritising the lives of the most vulnerable in our society, unborn babies, whilst also recognising that Ireland without abortion has the lowest level of maternal mortality making it the safest place in the world for mothers to give birth.”