Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I welcome our guests. If two consultant psychiatrists agree a patient is suicidal and this constitutes a real and substantial threat to her life which can be averted only by the termination of her pregnancy, do the witnesses envisage any situation in which they would disagree with them? The heads of the Bill provide for a situation in which a physically healthy woman carrying a perfectly healthy baby of 20 weeks gestation could be determined to qualify for a termination of pregnancy on the grounds her life was at risk due to the threat of suicide. This baby is viable albeit extremely premature, and the heads require everything possible be done to vindicate the baby's right to life. What exactly would the witnesses do in this situation?

My next question is for the Irish College of General Practitioners, ICGP. At its recent AGM the ICGP voted that the Government should introduce clarity in the law founded on evidence-based medical guidelines where there are real and substantial risks to the life of the mother. How does it reconcile the position it outlined today with this mandate?

I understand new Medical Council office-holders will soon begin their term of office. Is it not possible and likely this new council will revise the ethical guidelines relating to the care of pregnant women? Is it not the case the witnesses have no means of predicting what form this revision is likely to take? In light of the heads of the Bill, is it possible the council's ethical guidelines could be amended to remove the requirement to make every effort to preserve the life of the baby?