An American anti-abortion group is to send hundreds of thousands of dollars to the fight against abortion in Ireland. Many of its donors are leading Irish Americans the group says.

The Pro-Life Action Group is currently raising the money to support their Irish colleagues.

Spokesman Joseph Scheidler stated that a number of prominent expatriate Irish and Irish American business leaders were among the leading donors.

They have stepped up their fundraising in light of the publicity surrounding the death of mum-to-be Savita Halappanavar in Galway after she was refused an abortion.

The Sunday Business Post has reported that Irish anti-abortion groups will receive new funding from the US action league in the coming weeks.

The paper says that anti-abortion groups in Ireland will be the beneficiaries of this major financial boost from pro-life campaigners in the US.

Read more: Irish bishops reacts to abortion report - say it is “gravely immoral”

The report states that the American Pro-Life Action League has been actively fundraising in the US to support groups opposed to abortion in Ireland.

A source told the paper that the national director of the group regularly travels to Ireland to take part in Irish anti-abortion demonstrations.

The source said, “The donations could be as much as several hundred thousand dollars.”

The SBP also states that the American Pro-Life Action League is closely aligned with the Irish Youth Defence group. A large amount of the money raised is earmarked for the controversial Youth Defence organisation.

The Pro-Life Action League stepped up fundraising after taking an active interest in the case of Savita Halappanavar.

It has criticised ‘pro-abortion forces’ and claimed: “They have exploited the case for everything it’s worth.”