Ms Breda O'Brien:

I will leave the legal issues to Ms Steen, who is far more qualified. For the information of Deputy Ó Ríordáin, the last person in public life who was associated with the acronym TINA - there is no alternative - was Mrs. Thatcher. Given that, like me, the Deputy has socialist leanings I am amazed he is endorsing that attitude. There is always an alternative and legislators have a grave responsibility to find the alternative if what they plan is unjust.

I am delighted that he raised the issue of lobbying. I am developing a bee in my bonnet in this regard. Politicians feel the hard edge of it, with disastrous consequences in some cases. I feel strongly about treating politicians with decency, kindness and courtesy and playing the policy, not the man or woman. It would be nice if those of us who are foolish enough to raise our heads above the parapet received the same kind of treatment.

I was asked a question about fathers, family members and regret. The biggest systematic review that has ever been carried out produced two very interesting insights. First, it indicated that investigating the impact on fathers or families was outside its scope. The Deputy said the voice of the woman in crisis is missing. I hate it when people say men do not have an input because lads have a huge input into pregnancy. It is important we take that into account. Second, the review could not cover the issue of regret.

I must respond to Senator O'Keeffe because she addressed me directly. The quote in the submission is taken, slightly adjusted, from the book, What About Us? An Open Letter to the Mothers Feminism Forgot, by Maureen Freely, who is a pro-choice writer in The Guardian. It was she who wrote it is not the baby who ruins one's life, it is everybody else.