Dr. Rhona Mahony:

Between 2009 and 2011 two women in this country took their own lives during pregnancy. We may never know and can probably truthfully never say whether in these cases termination of pregnancy would have saved those lives. We are, once again, never dealing with absolute certainties. However, as a doctor, I believe we cannot dismiss it. When a woman feels during pregnancy that she is going to take her own life she needs to be treated in totality. I am not for one minute suggesting that termination of pregnancy cures suicide ideation but it might just be appropriate in a tiny percentage of cases. Therefore, we must not dismiss it and must be guided by our expert colleagues in the area of psychiatry.

I agree with Dr. Coulter Smith's remarks in regard to cancer. There are many different types of cancer in respect of which the risks and chances of recurrence are different. Again, we must be guided by our oncology colleagues in this regard. On the issue of legislation, without harping on I still contend that abortion in this country is, under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, a criminal offence. On regulation, I believe that there will always be, where the opportunity presents, two obstetricians involved in any decision to terminate a pregnancy where there are direct obstetric complications. I agree with Dr. Coulter Smith and the institute that where additional expertise is required, for example, in areas of psychiatry or cardiology, then at least one other doctor who is on the specialist register and is an expert in that field should be involved in the decision-making process. I do not believe any doctor wants to make these decisions on his or her own. In terms of how we practise medicine, we seek as much appropriate opinion as we can and practise as a team. Working together as a team and seeking each others' opinion is not a new concept to doctors in this country. I believe it is absolutely right that where possible, these decisions are not made in isolation but by an appropriate team with the appropriate expertise.

We want to do our job and to be legally protected in doing so.