Billy Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move motion 18:

That the committee recommend, in view of the complexities of legislating for the termination of pregnancy for reasons of rape and incest, that it be more appropriate to deal with the issue by making the termination of pregnancy lawful, with no restriction as to reason, up to a gestational limit of up to 12 weeks, through a GP-led service.

The purpose to this is to allow for termination of pregnancy up to 12 weeks without reason. In particular, this would also facilitate the issue around rape. We have heard substantial evidence that suggests it would not be possible to legislate directly for terminations in the context of rape. There are varying views in the committee but I think the overwhelming evidence and legal advice is that it would be impractical to legislate for that purpose. A further factor would be the time constraints surrounding the necessary proofs if rape was provided for as a standalone ground in legislation. Overall, this would facilitate many of the issues surrounding that complexity-----