Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank all contributors for their evidence thus far. I would like to ask the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists how it deals with minors - young girls who present as pregnant to its services. We had some discussion about this earlier with the psychiatrists and I would like to obtain clarification for the committee. Is it the case that medical consent can be given by somebody at the age of 16, with the anomaly this throws up in terms of persons being recognised in law as children up to the age of 18? What is the institute's procedure for making an appropriate referral for that child? We heard from Professor O'Keane in the last contribution that pregnant teenagers are at a much greater risk of dying by suicide than non-pregnant teenagers. I would like to get the witnesses' real-life experience in regard to how they deal with young people - children and adolescents - when they present in their clinics.

Among the recorded maternal deaths, were any of the women who tragically died under the age of 18?

How will the review panel with a convenor, mentioned by the obstetricians and gynaecologists, work in practice? I have a vision of a young woman in crisis being told to put the crisis aside for a couple of hours or days or weeks. What will this look like in respect of getting a second opinion from the review panel by contacting the convenor? How will that work for practitioners and people receiving the service? As Niall Behan correctly pointed out, the European Court of Human Rights recommended that whatever we do must be tangible and practical. It cannot be theoretical and cumbersome particularly for women who find themselves in crisis.