Lorraine Clifford-Lee (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I want to briefly put some matters on the record of the Seanad. I know I am not going to convince anybody one way or the other by anything I say. Senator Mullen spoke about a better alternative to abortion services. For the person choosing to avail of these services, this is the best option for them. Many of them are people of deep faith, but for one reason or another, are in this situation. Often it is not something they would have ever envisaged, but this is the situation they are in and they are trying to do what is best for themselves and their families. Prayer is a private and personal thing. I am a Catholic and I was raised and taught to believe that God hears our prayers no matter where we are. There is no reason to engage in that prayer outside a healthcare facility. A person can pray for the same intention at home or in a church or in another location. The prayer is received no matter where a person is, so there is no need to do that other than to judge people availing of healthcare services. Even using words like "complicit" and "harmful" when describing a medical professional is deeply offensive. It is not a good position to be in to be invoking religion to judge and criticise other people who are in a very difficult situation.