Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I support amendments Nos. 3 and 15 and I agree with my colleague, Senator Mullen, on the importance of both of them. The amendments revolve around the viability issue and the protections for babies born at a late stage.

Senator Mullen covered amendment No. 3 in detail but I will deal with amendment No. 15, which seeks to ensure that where an unborn child is capable of being born alive it is delivered, unless that course of action is not open to the treating doctors. There is currently no provision in the Bill requiring even a consideration for saving unborn life in an emergency situation. The consideration of whether or not there exists a possibility for saving a foetus does not impact on a woman's entitlement to a termination under this or any other section. This introduced a viability limit for abortion, as opposed to early delivery in emergency cases only. There is absolutely no justification for the emergency provision to extend to intentionally ending the life of an unborn child up to birth.

The people were repeatedly assured before the referendum on 25 May that there would be no late-term abortions. There would be early delivery with a medical team on hand. This is never necessary to deal with any physical danger to the mother so it is based on mental health grounds, as outlined by Senator Mullen. Section 10 opens the door to that and it is noteworthy that to certify an abortion under section 10, even for mental health grounds, the medical practitioner does not have to be a psychiatrist, an obstetrician or any other specific type of medical practitioner. Unlike even the emergency provisions in section 8 of the 2013 Act, there is no requirement in section 11 or elsewhere in this Bill for the opinion to be one which has regard to the need to preserve unborn human life as far as practicable.

It is important to emphasise that the changes suggested here do not pose any danger. There is nothing in the Bill to preclude the necessary early delivery of a baby who would survive outside the womb. Such early delivery is a way to avert the kind of risks which section 10 of this Bill is supposedly directed to addressing, without taking the life of the unborn child.The law in Ireland has always recognised a duty on the treating doctors to have regard to unborn life, even in emergency situations. However, the duty does not mean that the life of the pregnant woman is put at risk. Amendment No. 15 addresses the fact that it may be clinically possible to save foetal life at a late stage in pregnancy even in an emergency situation. The removal of a constitutional right to life for the unborn child changes the obligation on the treating doctors to take foetal life into account in making clinical decisions regarding the woman's care. This amendment simply means that in the absence of a constitutional duty, doctors will have a duty to have some regard to the possibility of saving an unborn child late into pregnancy.

In removing the eighth amendment, the people did not intend that unborn children would have no rights whatsoever in law, even late in pregnancy. This amendment does not in any way lessen the pregnant woman's right to all necessary medical treatment to end her pregnancy. It means, however, that where it is possible to save both lives, doctors exercising their clinical judgment would make an attempt to save both lives. For more than 30 years in Ireland, the law required that the unborn child would be saved if possible. With that law we had one of the lowest incidence of maternal death rates in the world, therefore, there is no evidence whatsoever that having regard to saving foetal life would lead to worse outcomes for women. This amendment is designed to reflect the fact that in an emergency situation, there is not normally a desire to terminate the pregnancy with the intention of ending foetal life. The amendment simply ensures that this reality is reflected in the law.

The Government promised voters before the referendum that late-term abortions would not be permitted in the event of repeal. Identical laws in other countries have been shown to offer no protections whatsoever to unborn babies from having their lives ended in the later stages of pregnancy. This amendment simply reflects the statements the Minister made to the people during the referendum. For instance, in the Dáil on 9 March this year, he stated: "the spectre of late or full term abortions is not the reality and is offensive to our medics". He said it was important to be clear and truthful that in cases where the foetus is viable, early delivery and the full range of neonatal care are the reality. Members should not take his word for that but, rather, should talk to those working in our maternity hospitals. We should not misinform the public. If that is the case, the Minister should be willing to accept the amendment. Again, on 28 April this year, a spokesperson for the Minister for Health outlined to thejournal.iethat if viability is established and the pregnancy is ended on health grounds, it will be done through early delivery with a full medical team on hand.

A number of days before the referendum, on 22 May, the Minister, Deputy Harris, outlined that abortion will be illegal in all circumstances beyond early pregnancy. If that is the case and if he were to follow through on those statements - they are only three but there are additional statements - surely he could reflect on this particular amendment which is a humane, compassionate amendment to try to give a child an opportunity to live. That is the purpose of the amendment and I ask the Minister to reflect on it. Just because the debate is over in the Dáil does not mean that he should not be open to accepting amendments here in the Seanad. It is not too late for him to change his mind on these issues.On this amendment, the Minister seems to have changed his mind regarding the stance taken and promises made to the electorate before the referendum on 25 May. I am providing him with an opportunity in these amendments to correct the shortcomings in the Bill. I hope he will reflect on that.