Professor Patricia Casey:

On the question as to how pregnant women can be reassured in the absence of legislation, we always do the best we can for every man and every woman, irrespective of whether she is pregnant. We have a very good track record on maternal mortality. We know from the limited statistics we have on suicide in pregnancy in Ireland that there was no maternal mortality from suicide in a 21 year period. I do not know whether the Deputy was present when I presented these statistics from the masters of the maternity hospitals.

The data were gathered from 1980 to 2011 and out of 685,000 deliveries, there were no deaths by suicide in pregnancy. While we do not have a lot of information, we have some, including that crucial information and, consequently, the Deputy may be assured that women will get the necessary treatment when they are depressed and suicidal. Deputy Durkan mentioned something about the North of Ireland and the reason the floodgates have not opened there. Let us see what happens in the coming weeks, now that the Marie Stopes organisation has moved in there. Senator Terry Brennan wanted to know what to do when someone states she is suicidal and wants an abortion. I have seen two women like that in my practice in the Mater hospital. They came in after overdoses and stated they wanted abortions. However, by spending time and talking with them, I ascertained that while they initially were stating they wanted abortions, what was behind the words was they were being encouraged strongly, under threats from their partners and parents, to have an abortion. This is the reason it is important to spend time listening to what women are saying.