Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

Personally, I am not in favour of abortion. That is my strongly held view, but I am not here to legislate for me, especially not on this issue. Like other Members of the Oireachtas, I have a duty and responsibility to legislate for citizens, in this case pregnant women whose lives are at risk. Therefore, I and Sinn Féin will support the Protection of Life in Pregnancy Bill.

Sinn Féin believes that Irish society has a responsibility to not only address the issue of abortion but also address the fact that thousands of Irish women travel to Britain each year for abortions. We also believe that all possible means of education and support services should be put in place to prevent crisis pregnancies. We believe that the way to tackle the issue of abortion is by way of comprehensive education, full access to child care and comprehensive support services, including financial support for single mothers, and that full information and non-directive pregnancy counselling should be freely available.

Personally, I am strongly opposed to any attempt to criminalise or be judgmental of women who have had abortions. Who here in this Chamber - or, indeed, outside this Chamber - has the right to judge these women? I am concerned that this Bill could potentially lead to a woman, in whatever circumstances, being sentenced to up to 14 years in prison.

The fact is that the lives of some women are placed at a real and substantial risk due to their pregnancy. In these cases only a termination of the pregnancy, as distinct from the termination of the life of the unborn, although that can be a consequence of the intervention, will save their lives. That is already accepted practice in this State. It is also the current legal position, as is an intervention where the woman's life is at real and substantial risk due to the threat of suicide. If passed into law, this Bill will legalise a termination only where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother, including a risk of suicide.

This legislation has been a long time coming and the issue that gives rise to it has been at the centre of considerable debate and controversy for many years. The tragic death last year of Ms Savita Halappanavar, and the evidence emerging out of the inquest, refocused attention. It also underlined the urgent need for legal clarity for doctors and protection for pregnant women. The HSE report on Ms Halappanavar's death was published in the past few weeks and on the same day as this Bill, and because of its direct relevance to the legislation, I wish to comment on it. I take the opportunity again to extend my deepest sympathy to Mr. Praveen Halappanavar and all the relatives and friends of Savita. Like the outcome of the inquest, the report has far-reaching implications. It is extremely serious and distressing that the report found that Ms Halappanavar's death had resulted from inadequate assessment and monitoring of her condition and a failure to offer all options to her. University College Hospital Galway's non-adherence to clinical guidelines relating to the prompt and effective management of sepsis, severe sepsis and septic shock from the time of first diagnosis contributed significantly to her death. We may never be able to state definitively that this Bill, if it had been in force at the time of Ms Halappanavar's hospitalisation, would have saved her life. However, there are good grounds, based on expert evidence, for believing that this would have been the case, as a termination would have been regarded as a life-saving option to which Ms Halappanavar should have had timely access.

The background to this debate goes back further, however, to 1992, when a 14-year-old girl became pregnant as a result of rape and was suicidal. The then Attorney General sought an injunction preventing the girl from travelling with her parents to have an abortion abroad. The case, known as the X case, went to court and the Supreme Court ruled that a termination of pregnancy was lawful if it could be shown that there was a real and substantial risk to the life, as distinct from the health, of the mother. In 2010, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the State violates the rights of pregnant women by refusing to allow them to receive lawful terminations in the event that a pregnancy could threaten their lives. The decision by the European Court of Human Rights made it clear that there is an onus on the State to legislate under the terms of the Constitution and the decision in the X case. Regrettably, previous Governments failed to face up to this issue. It has taken 21 years for this legislation to be produced.

It is a fact that there are sharply divided opinions on this issue and that was clearly evident during the recent Joint Committee on Health and Children hearings. Most of the focus in those hearings was on the issue of suicide, with a number of medical people and politicians giving evidence that abortion is not a treatment for suicide. Nobody contends that it is. They also claimed that this could open up the possibility of large numbers of women using the threat of suicide to secure a legal abortion. I believe that these arguments are disrespectful to women and impossible in the light of the proposed legislation. I share the view of the former Supreme Court judge Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness that the proposals are "sufficiently rigorous" to ensure that very few cases will be dealt with in respect of the threat of suicide.

For our part, Sinn Féin has set out its clear position on abortion. Our policy, which is not in favour of abortion, has been settled policy for us for some time. In the Northern Ireland Assembly, we opposed and voted against the proposed extension of the 1967 British Act to the North. We believe, as I stated earlier, that all possible means of education and support services for women should be put in place.

The legislation being proposed by the Government aims to address the issue of a pregnant woman whose life is at risk and who requires a medical termination, and the need for legal clarity for doctors involved in such a procedure. It does this in the context of existing constitutional law as interpreted by the Supreme Court in the X case. Sinn Féin has stated consistently that legislation is required in line with the X case judgment and in compliance with the A, B and C v. Ireland judgment and the expert group recommendations. In fact, it is long overdue. I commend the Minister, Deputy Reilly, on his introduction of this legislation.

There is now a widely held view - according to recent opinion polls, a clear majority view - in Irish society that legislation along the lines originally set out in the heads of the Bill, and now in this legislation, is necessary. It is not perfect legislation. Notwithstanding this, judged in the round, and taking into account the pressing need for long overdue legislative certainty and clarity, Sinn Féin will support this legislation.

See this speech in context