Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour) | Oireachtas source

It has taken 21 years to get to this day. I am proud that this Government has taken on an issue that its predecessors avoided. I am particularly proud of the Labour Party for continuing to apply pressure on the issue. As the only party which included a commitment to legislate for the X case in its manifesto, I am delighted to see that promise realised. It is a good day for democracy and an example of strong leadership from both the Taoiseach and Tánaiste in the face of an unrelenting and nasty campaign of opposition.

This is an issue that is close to my heart, and one with which I am closely associated. There is certainly no shame in that. I will always fight for the rights of women, whether in regard to abortion, domestic violence, justice for those who suffered in Magdalen laundries or the survivors of symphysiotomy. I have not been working in isolation in seeking to effect progress on the abortion issue. The realisation of this legislation is due in large part to the efforts of the thousands of people who contributed constructively to the debate over the years. Many of them would like to see the legislation go further and I share their wish. Unfortunately, however, politics is the art of the possible and to go further is not possible at this time. The reality is that our Constitution severely limits the ability of the Oireachtas to act in this regard. That is not to say that we could not bring forward a referendum to repeal Article 40.3.3°, which I would support. No opportunity has been afforded to the Irish people to make access to abortion less restrictive, even though opinion polls consistently indicate support for that position.

There has been a great deal of debate on the inclusion in the Bill of suicide as a ground for abortion. That inclusion is necessary to give full effect to the Supreme Court judgment in the 1992 X case. We as legislators are not in a position to pick and choose which court rulings we will enforce. The highest court in the land has spoken and we should respect its decision. Moreover, the question of suicidality as a ground for abortion has been put to the people twice in separate referenda. Its removal was rejected in 1992, in the immediate aftermath of the X case ruling, and again in 2002 when the 25th amendment not only proposed its deletion but sought to increase the penalties for assisting a woman to have an abortion.

When we speak of the X case we should remember that it concerned a 14 year old girl who, having become pregnant as a result of rape, faced a real and substantive risk to her life arising from her suicidal condition. There is a face and a real person behind the case. Likewise, other prominent cases such as A, B and C v. Ireland and those involving Miss C and Miss D were about real people with difficult stories. That reality should remain at the heart of the debate. In the same vein, we cannot ignore the thousands of women who have gone abroad over many decades to obtain an abortion. Thousands more will continue to do so in order to access a procedure they consider to be right for them. They include women who have been raped or abused in other ways and women whose foetuses have a fatal abnormality. That will continue to happen even as this debate proceeds and the Bill is eventually enacted.

It will continue because while this legislation is necessary, it will only do the bare minimum.

I cannot help but feel angry at the nasty, malicious and underhand campaign that has sought to bully Deputies and Senators who represent the people. The campaign has been relentless and cruel and, I believe, carried out by well funded, although marginal, so-called pro-life groups. I question from where they get their money and would like to see full disclosure and clarity in this regard. I cannot understand why they have not been investigated more thoroughly. I cannot fathom why so much time, energy and money have been put into the campaign when they would have been better spent in addressing wider societal problems such as homelessness and child poverty. I acknowledge that there are differing viewpoints on the issue, but when the extremes of society are given near free rein to bully and harass Members of Parliament, it is a matter of concern.

I commend the Bill and thank all those who have contributed constructively to the debate, whether for or against the legislation. Once again, I thank the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste for showing leadership and hope that in the not too distant future we can progress the art of possibility when it comes to abortion and realise greater rights for women.

See this speech in context