Dublin, Ireland -- Abortion advocates who sailed an abortion ship to
Ireland to challenge its pro-life laws vowed on Friday to return after
acknowledging they lacked permission to conduct abortions and admitting
they were no more than a publicity stunt.

Kathleen O'Neill, spokeswoman for the Irish chapter of the Dutch-based
Women on Waves group, said the converted fishing trawler Aurora, which
docked in Dublin on Thursday, lacked a necessary medical inspection from
the Dutch government.

"The ship is medically certified and all of that but in order to obtain a
licence to practice or to have abortions outside the territorial waters we
needed a medical inspection," she told Reuters.

Women on Waves found out Friday that it lacked two Dutch and Irish
licenses, one for operating medical facilities and the other for carrying
passengers to sea.

She was referring to plans that the group had announced in advance to
provide medical abortions to Irish women by sailing them into
international waters where Ireland's abortion laws would not apply. At
first the pro-abortion group claimed they would perform dozens of
abortions. Then they played down the number of women it might attract,
considering the social stigma involved in Ireland. "We hoped for two, or
one," said Lizet Kraal, a co-founder of Women on Waves.

The ship may sail back to the Netherlands for its missing license, then
return to Ireland in July, or it may sail on to South America or Africa to
continue its campaign in pro-life places. However, Aurora costs more than
$1,000 a day, and the group's initial support of $117,000 has nearly run
out.

"We're probably bringing the ship back in a month, when the licence is
there and there are some legal things on the Irish side that need to be
sorted," she said.

She claimed the pro-abortion group had been overwhelmed by the interest
expressed by Irish women, of whom she said some 250 had signed up for
abortions in four days. Even though the ship wouldn't be doing them,
O'Neill said said the women would still receive counselling and would be
advised of how to proceed with abortions if they so choose.

Many Irish women cancelled abortion appointments at British abortion
facilities to such an extent that a spokesman for Marie Stopes
International, a British abortion facility chain, said the abortion ship
was "not the answer to the problem."

But after the Dutch government announced that its medical staff did not
have a license to perform abortions, ship spokesman Joke van Kampen told
reporters: "What we are really here for is to get attention for the state
that Irish women are in."Overwhelmingly Catholic Ireland has implemented
the right to life for mother and unborn child in an amendment to its
constitution.

Protests from pro-life groups had been expected when the Aurora, a
35-metre (115-foot) converted fishing trawler, arrived, but the visit
sparked more interest from international media than from activists or
local citizens.

Maria Davin, a spokeswoman for the Irish Pro-Life campaign, also dismissed
the ship's visit as a stunt they would try to ignore. She said: "The Irish
people will be getting on with their normal lives. We see this as mainly a
publicity stunt."

She added: "There is already a debate under way in Ireland on the issue,
there has been for a number of years, and we see Women on Waves as a
distraction from that. Any debate is helpful but raising hysteria is not."

Ship director Rebecca Gomparts, asked whether she felt guilty about
disappointing Irish women who had sought abortions, she said the
pro-abortion group was looking into providing financial assistance.

John Smyth, of the Irish Pro-Life campaign, also dismissed the vessel's
Thursday arrival as a publicity stunt and said his group feared protesting
would just draw more attention.

Gomperts said Women on Waves had applied for a permit to carry out the
abortions but "a technical issue has been turned into a political one."
She was pressing the matter with the Dutch government, she added.

Peter McCormack, who said he had voted against abortion in two Irish
referendums, said Women on Waves should be sent on its way. "The people
have voted against it and they have no right to be here," he said.

Ireland has put the legalization of abortion to a referendum twice since
1983. It was rejected both times.

In a 1992 vote, Irish women were permitted to travel overseas for abortion
and providing information on abortions in another state, which invariably
means England, was made legal.