Colm Keaveney (Galway East, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am speaking to amendment No. 58. Many parts of the Bill are to be welcomed in that they provide legal clarity for medical professionals when they are faced with a situation in which a woman's life is at risk and where action is necessary to save her life that may result, as an unintended consequence, in the death of the unborn. The Bill, however, contains some flaws and once again, as I said last week, we are suffering from a belief in Irish exceptionalism or indeed what has been described in the Chamber today as a group-think. We somehow believe that we alone, relative to other jurisdictions which have attempted to introduce legislation, can bring in limited access to abortion on the grounds of mental health. We know from experiences in the United Kingdom, California and New Zealand in particular in the 1960s that they could do this but within a few years the number of abortions being carried out reached into the tens of thousands. Many other jurisdictions have had a similar experience and a similar debate. In this area we seem, as Irish people, determined not to learn from the mistakes of other jurisdictions.

We know from experience in the United Kingdom, California and New Zealand that a few years after abortion was introduced, the number of them being performed reached into the tens of thousands. Many other jurisdictions have had a similar experience and debate. In this area, many of us seem to be determined not to learn from the mistakes of other jurisdictions but rather copy them so we may learn the lesson the hard way. This determination flows from an odd belief that we are exceptional relative to other countries. We often say such and such might have happened that way in that country but Ireland is the exception. I do not believe that. The present economic calamity we are enduring was caused by that type of belief. We were told we could not go wrong with property prices, that the fundamentals of the economy were sound as well as good and we were different than anywhere else in the world.

Section 9 will lead to abortion becoming far more widely available than its supporters disingenuously now claim. Many of its supporters need to be honest with themselves first and then to the public. Some supporters of this Bill have been very honest and see what I have foreseen. They have also been honest with the public with respect to their decision on it.

Earlier today Deputy Ó Cuív raised an issue which I have encountered over the course of this debate. When one raises an objection to aspects of this debate, one is normally met with slogans such as “You do not trust women”. That is unacceptable and is a nonsense in this debate. As I said last week in the Chamber, people in general are trustworthy. People occasionally lie to achieve a purpose. Some people are women. I am sorry, a Cheann Comhairle, to have to reduce the debate to this extent. However, when one is met by protestors claiming one does not trust women, sometimes one has to reduce the debate to this type of nonsense to address the issue.

We have seen interviews with David Steel who introduced the Abortion Act in 1967 in the UK Parliament in which he has expressed regret at how the operation of the legislation eventually worked out. He has stated that if he had known the eventual consequences of what had materialised he would not have proposed the Bill. David Steel has some excuse. He did not know what we know now.

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