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

The ICGP's submission asked how doctors who are willing to refer patients requesting a termination will be identified. Do they propose that there be a register of doctors who have no objection in principle to the direct and intentional killing of an unborn baby?

Professor McAuliffe distinguishes between terminations and pre-term delivery. What exactly does she mean by "termination"?

I have some questions for the Irish Medical Council. In taking a stand in favour of the Government's proposed legislation, I presume, as an evidence-based organisation, the council's members have had extensive discussions on the studies questioning whether abortion can be a treatment for suicidal ideation. Could they share with the committee the details of those discussions and indicate which studies supported the contention that abortion can be a treatment for suicidal ideation? In their comments on head 5, the witnesses expressed a preference for clinical guidelines established by the relevant professional colleges over prescription from the Minister. Would it be fair to say they fear legislation could be overly prescriptive and could tie the hands of medical professionals? In their comments on head 6 they suggest that "practitioners who declare a conscientious objection must be excluded from review panels". Is it the IMO's position that doctors should be screened for pro-life values and excluded on that basis, or that review panels should be made up exclusively of doctors who have no principled objection to the direct killing of an unborn baby? To be intellectually consistent as well as being fair in terms of the equal right to life of the unborn child, should practitioners who declare support for general abortion rights be excluded from panels determining whether abortion is an appropriate treatment for a threat of self-destruction?