DUBLIN — The Catholic Church in Ireland on Friday condemned the government’s abortion legislation, which would permit abortions in cases where a threat existed to a woman’s life, including from suicide. The church called the legislation “a dramatically and morally unacceptable change to Irish law.”

The statement, from the Irish bishops, disputed the government’s position that the proposed legislation, introduced by the government this week, merely codifies existing constitutional rights flowing from a 1992 Supreme Court ruling and does not confer new ones.

“The Heads of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill 2013 published by the Government on Wednesday would, if approved, make the direct and intentional killing of unborn children lawful in Ireland,” the bishops’ statement said.

The statement referred in particular to the inclusion of suicide as a possible ground for abortion.

“It is a tragic moment for Irish society when we regard the deliberate destruction of a completely innocent person as an acceptable response to the threat of the preventable death of another person,” it said.