Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The preface of the expert group report was written by Mr. Justice Seán Ryan. In it he stated that the European Court of Human Rights concluded that there is an existing constitutional right which was identified by the Supreme Court in the X case decision, that it was logical and rational that the right should be available and enforceable, that there should be a formal, accessible and transparent procedure and that Article 47 of the convention requires implementation of the Strasbourg judgment. Is Professor Binchy suggesting that Mr. Justice Ryan was wrong in saying that? He appears to say that in his submission. The second question also relates to Professor Binchy's submission in which he asks, if the Oireachtas proceeds on the basis that it is permissible intentionally to terminate the lives of unborn human beings, what principled barrier there is to extending the circumstances in which lives may be terminated. Is not Article 40.3.3° that protection in the sense that the lives of the unborn are written into the Constitution and protected? That same protection is not in the constitutions of other countries, so it is wrong to make a comparison with other countries as regards broadening the right.