Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is an absolute disgrace and makes a mockery of the Government's much-heralded care for women.

During the course of this debate we have witnessed a lot of grandstanding by the Government on the need to become a more modern country. Abortion will not necessarily treat suicidal intent or depression. I would like to give a couple of true examples that are documented and backed up by real people. One says her boyfriend, the father of the baby, committed suicide on the anniversary of the abortion, that her father became very depressed and ended up in hospital. Another says she was a happy-go-lucky girl until the abortion, but now she is always depressed. She has tried to commit suicide. She could not cope with her other kids after the abortion. Now they are being minded by somebody else. She is pregnant again and says she is in a far worse situation than the first time. After having an abortion, women usually suffer panic attacks, isolation, low self-esteem, nightmares, depression, etc. They were not warned about the mental effect of an abortion.

I thank the politicians and other witnesses who attended and gave a great deal of time to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children hearings, but it was a disgrace that the committee did not hear from groups such as Women Hurt, women who regret their abortions. Many of these women have visited the Oireachtas in recent months and they are deeply saddened by the way the Government dismisses their stories-----

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