A number of women's groups pro-choice and civil liberty organisations have urged that changes be made to the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill.

These groups were not represented at the hearings of the Oireachtas Health Committee on the Heads of Bill, which concluded yesterday.

The 11 groups say abortion should be decriminalised in the new legislation and have called for a reduction in the number of doctors needed to certify an abortion is necessary where there is a risk of suicide.

The groups say the proposed legislation requires up to seven doctors to authorise a termination.

They also say the scope of the legislation should be broadened to include fatal fetal abnormalities and pregnancies resulting from rape and incest.

The groups include the National Women's Council of Ireland, the Irish Family Planning Associiaton and the Irish Ciuncil for Civil Liberties

Meanwhile, Senator Ronan Mullen has claimed that the hearings were a 'pretend exercise in non-consultation', when the Government showed no willingness to revisit the controversial essence of the Bill.

He said the most serious issue at the hearings was the Government's proposal to legalise the direct killing of an unborn child on grounds of a suicide threat.

Senator Mullen said over two sets of hearings, the Government failed to produce any evidence that abortion on the grounds of suicide was medically justified, legally necessary or that it would not be abused.

Medico-legal expert Dr Simon Mills told the final day of Committee hearings yesterday that the provisions in the legislation to criminalise abortion may be too punitive, and risked criminalising a vulnerable and desperate pregnant woman.

Oireachtas Health Committee Chairman Deputy Jerry Buttimer said expert witnesses at the recent hearings highlighed many issues about the proposed legislaiton, some of which needed further consideration, others which required clarification and more that were viewed as positive contributions to the law in a difficult and sensitive area.

He said the Committee would now compile a report on the latest hearings, which would be presented to the Government in order to provide assistance in the final drafting of the aboriton bill.

View the submissions to the Oireachtas Committee hearings here