Ivana Bacik (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Brady for his clear presentation. A consensus is emerging from the medical and legal experts who testified yesterday and this morning on the need for regulation and legislation, in accordance with the decision taken by the Government before Christmas. The legislation must provide for an accessible and effective procedure.

In regard to the number of doctors required, chapter six of the expert group report, which sets out a clear blueprint for the types of issue to be addressed in legislation, appears to suggest that two would be sufficient. In the case of suicide risk, one of these may be required to be a psychiatrist. Is it Dr. Brady's view that requiring more than two doctors as a matter of routine would render the procedure inaccessible or ineffective for women, particularly outside Dublin, and can that be addressed in some way by providing for decisions to be made in emergencies based on one opinion?

Dr. Brady has helpfully taken the issue of fatal foetal abnormality somewhat further. We heard previously about the D v. Ireland case in 2005, in which the Government argued it was tenable that a woman would have a right to an abortion in a case of foetal abnormality because there would be no right to life for the unborn that was capable of being protected. This was taken further in the Roche case, and Dr. Brady has helpfully cited the two Polish cases of 2011 and 2012 before the European Court of Human Rights, which appear to suggest that litigation in Ireland would be likely to succeed where a woman is denied an abortion in a case of foetal abnormality and forced to travel abroad. Does Dr. Brady think such litigation would succeed in terms of establishing a breach of Article 3, and should we legislate now to provide for abortion in such limited circumstances in the interest of preventing such litigation?