Anti-abortion hunger striker Tim Jackson is claiming a partial victory after the Taoiseach said he was willing to watch a video on an abortion.

Senator Catherine Noone, chairwoman of the Oireachtas Committee on Abortion, wrote to Mr Jackson this morning on the fifth day of his protest.

In correspondence, she said she has watched the video of an abortion and “the Taoiseach has no difficulty watching it.”

The central demand of the hunger strike by the Ballybofey man is that the Taoiseach and the committee watch the video of an abortion before going any further with plans for a referendum on the 8th Amendment.

Tim Jackson

Speaking this morning, Tim Jackson said he was pleased by the response.

“Although the correspondence is a step in the right direction, I will keep going until the committee watch the video together in session. There is no other way of verifying if they all have watched it.”

Jackson, who began on Monday, says his body is weakening but he remains determined that the committee are fully informed of what happens the baby in an abortion.

“I think the least we all can do is know exactly how the child is killed, as it’s unmasks the reality of abortion in a debate clouded with euphemisms. It is a prerequisite for having a fully informed debate.”

The video is available at whiteflagmovement.com