Dr. Máire Milner:

Thank you very much, Chairman. I will be extremely brief. I welcome the heads of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill as put forward by the Government. It is needed because there are areas of uncertainty that we encounter during our practice. They are not common but neither are they very rare. Our population and our medicine are changing all the time. Women are now falling pregnant at ages and with diseases and on treatments that previously would not have been encountered. This gives rise to logistical challenges and difficulties for us as clinicians.

This can give rise to incidents in which the life of the mother may be threatened. I welcome the bringing of clarity into an area of uncertainty. Dealing with a woman who is critically ill brings its own uncertainties. For us to have a background of uncertainty about our legal position has been very unhelpful and difficult. Accordingly, I welcome this legislation.

With regard to the suicide part of it, this is a more difficult area. Intuitively, while this is a very unlikely scenario, I think we have to recognise that the submission of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists pointed out that mental as well as physical illness can have similar indications. I endorse the submission by the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and I would be happy to answer any questions the committee may have on that.