Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

In his submission, Dr. Seán Ó Domhnaill referred to a recent international symposium on maternal health in Dublin at which it was confirmed direct abortion was not necessary to save mothers' lives and that this declaration has been signed by 400 doctors to date. Will he give some background to this declaration? What parts of the country are these doctors from and what are their qualifications and specialties?

Ms Breda O'Brien and Ms Maria Steen raised the issue of mental health and the well-being of the father and other family members, a factor which they said has not received much consideration during these hearings. Will they comment further on it? What do they consider to be the main issues that arise with this? They also mentioned the danger of normalising suicide as a response to stressful situations. Are they aware of any evidence that this occurs in pregnancy?

Family and Life expressed concern about the definition of abortion. Can Mr. David Manley comment further on this, about necessary medical treatments and the confusion in the public domain about the terms used? Mr. David Manley made a distinction between the termination of a pregnancy and the termination of the unborn? Will he elaborate on that?