The Fine Gael-Labour coalition has proposed liberalising Ireland’s abortion laws and Oireachtas hearings on draft legislation to allow for terminations in some cases will begin tomorrow.

However, Meath East TD Regina Doherty has outlined the horrific level of abuse she is getting.

Ms Doherty told TV3’s Vincent Browne this week about threatening emails she has recently received.

“The level of abuse and physical threats that I am getting at the moment, even though people know exactly where I’m standing, It is off the wall”.

She said she was having “normal conversations” with some people about the proposed legislation but in relation to other people, she added: “I have a number of people at the moment who are going to burn my house down with my children in it, they are going to spit at me when I walk inside my church grounds at Sunday morning at Mass.

“I received an email which I’m sure we all did last week where I’m going to have my throats [sic] cut from my neck to my naval and my entrails are going to spill out. There are some very strange people in this country who call themselves Christians.”

The TD said she was glad to have the protection of the party whip system, which enforces how deputies vote on an issue in the Dáil. Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said the whip system will be enforced for Fine Gael when the Dáil votes on the abortion legislation in July.

“I’m glad I have the protection of a whip system to be able to say I am supported and protected by the people in my party as opposed to being vulnerable, to being picked off.”

A male Fine Gael TD yesterday also revealed he had received similar threats. Not wanting to be named, he said: “Yes, I’ve got a couple of them.”

Other TDs have previously revealed that they have received threats. European Affairs Minister Lucinda Creighton told the Irish Examiner earlier this year that she received “vicious, personal and horrific” emails regarding abortion from both pro-choice and pro-life groups.

Government chief whip Paul Kehoe said yesterday that there were “loads of TDs” getting similar threats to Ms Doherty.