Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for coming before us. Professor O'Keane actually referred to the elephant in the room, namely, that suicide in pregnancy is very rare. However, this is not to state that it does not occur. We have not addressed the needs of all of those people to whom reference was made. It is ironic that we are here to discuss matters which arose as a result of the judgment handed down in the X case.

We have not talked about a scenario such as the one that arose in the X case which involved a 14 year old girl who did not have an obstetrician and whose mother saw fit to take her to the United Kingdom to prevent her child from losing her life because she expressed severe thoughts of suicide. We must ensure we do not lose sight of all of these people, whether they be 14, 24 or whatever age. In the experts' opinion, what option is best for dealing with those people who do not have a perinatal psychiatrist, a psychiatrist or, in many cases, an obstetrician?