But Kearns said the court "is satisfied, in the circumstances of this case, that it is in the best interests of the unborn child; it should authorise at the discretion of the medical team the withdrawal of ongoing somatic support being provided in this tragic and unfortunate case".
All the medical experts who gave evidence in the case earlier this week said the chances of the unborn child surviving were minimal.
The fact is that where women feel well supported, where they are cared for, and where they are psychologically healthy, the general pattern is that they go out of their way to ensure every protection possible for their unborn babies.
In the warped thinking of the profoundly Catholic yet murderous generals who ruled Argentina then, it would have been unchristian to kill an innocent, unborn child by executing the expectant mother.
The unborn child is unlikely to ever be a king or queen.
The 8th amendment "acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect and, as far as practicable by its laws, to defend and vindicate that right".
"The core of his life was caring for people as a husband, a father and a doctor, and that caring extended to his life work for unborn children and their mothers," Meyers said.
The landmark judgment is a challenge to the Irish constitution, which gives a mother and an unborn child equal rights, and led pro-choice campaigners to demand a referendum on the issue.
"I don't believe this unborn baby can survive," Marsh told the high court earlier this week.
Since in UK law foetuses have no rights, it's hard to imagine that compensation will be granted – to do so would change the whole basis of the way the unborn are regarded in our society.
"No woman intentionally harms her unborn child," he said.
