Mr. Niall Behan:

I am conscious a number of these questions are not directly relevant to the report of the expert group but I will answer as best I can.

On the issues around the circumstances in which protection would be given to the unborn, in part of our submission, we included information on what happens in other European countries. In other countries, some protection is afforded to the unborn at particular gestation periods and in particular circumstances. The difficulty in Ireland, and the expert group deals with this well, is that the constitutional referendum in 1983 tried to equate the life of the unborn with the life of the woman. Essentially that has given the unborn more rights than the woman in practice and we have women travelling to another jurisdiction for abortion services as a result.

On the remarks in our opening submission and women not getting the best care, we would not be here without the A, B and C v. Ireland case. We would not be here if that woman could have got a determination from her doctors. We would not be here today if C in the A, B and C v. Ireland case had got a determination and if the law was in place. Professor McAuliffe has already mentioned cases where women have had to be sent to Britain. From our perspective, the question is what would happen in those cases if a woman could not travel because she could not afford it or did not have the necessary documents.

The Irish Family Planning Association has always respected the laws of the State. That does not stop us advocating for our clients and bringing to the attention of lawmakers circumstances where the law is a barrier to health care.

I hope I have answered all the questions but I am happy to answer any more.