Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their contributions. Some of issues I wish to raise follow from Deputy Mattie McGrath's questions on how substantial risks of mortality are to be assessed. There has been considerable discussion about suicidal thoughts and self-harming but what if a mother has a long-established mental health problem? We know about the proliferation of mental health difficulties throughout the country and the number of people who are, for example, on severe medication regimes for bipolar disorders or schizophrenia. From my limited experience of this area as a social worker, I understand women are often encouraged to discontinue their medication while they are pregnant. Does that increase the substantial risk to the life of the mother? Senator Crown previously outlined the example of a woman who is diagnosed with cancer and cannot receive the treatment she needs to save her life because she is pregnant. I ask for further elaboration on the real life choices that women may face. They are difficult choices and I ask those who work on the front line how we can make this clear for women and practitioners.

Deputy Kelleher raised the issue of conscientious objection. In the not so distant past a young girl who became pregnant was forbidden from attending a certain school in this country because of its ethos. What impact does the ethos of our hospitals have on the kind of health care required to save the lives of women?