Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Bríd Smith for introducing this Bill. It is very timely, this being the fifth anniversary of the significant referendum on the right to access abortion. The important point is that abortion is a healthcare issue. The review was initiated to determine where we were and how the legislation allowed women access to healthcare. We have to say that, in some areas, it is falling short. These are the areas we have to discuss. Several areas in the Bill before us deal with this. Section 2 would delete the foetal viability clause where there is a risk to the pregnant woman's life or a serious risk to her health.

It allows for abortion on grounds of fatal foetal abnormality that is likely to lead to the death of the foetus, either before or within a year of birth. Section 4 allows for abortion on request prior to foetal viability and removes the three-day waiting period for abortion on request. Section 5 removes all clauses relating to the criminalisation of abortion.

In his introduction the Minister made the point that it was the recommendations of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution that put forward the 12-week term and so on. That committee also said there should be no criminalisation of health providers in relation to abortion services and yet that was put into the legislation. There are areas where there were conflicts between the Oireachtas and the legislation as well. We are here to try to tease out where we can look at areas that allow women to access more.

We know that one in ten GPs offers abortion care but 50% of counties have fewer than ten GPs offering abortion care. There is a strong urban-rural divide, with services centred around Dublin, Cork and Galway. Just 10% of GPs are delivering abortion services, as the threat of criminal sanctions hangs over those offering them. The Minister mentioned that 11 out of 19 maternity hospitals are offering the services. I had a map of where those hospitals are and if you look at it there are huge gaps in the north, the midlands and Kerry. Women are finding it difficult to access hospitals to get an abortion.

We know the statistics, which show that in 2019 some 365 women travelled abroad for abortions. That is still one woman every day, after the legislation has been passed. That is an area we have to scrutinise and we have to say that is wrong. We should be able to progress abortion for women who have fatal foetal abnormalities. The 24-day restriction on when a baby born would live is too restrictive. That has been dealt with in the Bill and the limit should be up to a year. That is much more viable and that would take huge pressure off medics and consultants looking at where the fatal foetal abnormality is. They are the women who have to go Britain and the Netherlands to access abortions and that is just not on. It is not on after us having the referendum, particularly for women in those situations of a loved birth or pregnancy that turns into an issue of the parents facing the potential that their child will be born and then die within a couple of hours, six months or eight months or whatever. We need to do right by those women and couples. We have an obligation to look at that and this Bill covers it.

I mention how many people are travelling to Britain. Some 775 people have done so since the referendum. This increased from 194 in 2020 to 206 in 2022. Some 50% of those travelled for medical reasons. The number of those travelling for medical reasons increased from 32% in 2020 to 50% in 2021. This suggests there are significant problems with access to abortion care in Ireland post 12 weeks on the grounds of fatal foetal abnormality laid out in section 11 due to the 28-day mortality clause.

I do not understand why the Minister is pushing this back for a year and saying he will review it. Marie O'Shea will be attending the committee in the coming weeks and I cannot see why this cannot be agreed, brought in and be part of the discussion over the coming period of time. The Bill can be amended accordingly when it comes to other areas we have to look at.

See this speech in context