Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Friday, 17 May 2013

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Health and Children

Heads of Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill 2013: Public Hearings

10:50 am

Photo of Peter MathewsPeter Mathews (Dublin South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Dr. Holohan for his presentation. I want to go straight to the heart of this matter. We are here to uphold the Constitution which provides for the equal right and value of lives of mothers and children. Two points in the discussions this morning come to mind. The first is a question raised, in the first instance, by Deputy Mattie McGrath, which has not been adequately answered. I will read it again. Deputy McGrath asked can the Minister provide specific examples indicating how the heads of the Bill were influenced by the evidence presented to this committee during the hearings held in January, especially in regard to the unanimous evidence presented at those hearings indicating that abortion is not a treatment for suicidal ideation or intent and that it is impossible to determine with any degree the probability that a person is in fact suicidal. There are other aspects to the scheme of arrangement with which I am not happy. Words are not being used correctly. I refer, for instance, to the risk to the life of the mother as opposed to the health, there is no opposition between the life and the health, it is "as distinct from".

On a careful, robust and rigorous reading of the document Dr. Holohan produced, I do not believe one would understand the impression it gives. I believe that the discipline of rigorous thought and rigorous appraisal has been lost in this debate and the consequences for Ireland, its people, its mothers and its daughters are far too important to be racing into this. We have to be very clear. It is very clear, even from Dr. Holohan's paper, that the medical profession, with its current peer reviews and peer checks and balances, is carrying on very well with a duty of care - that word "care" coming from the words "heart","core" - not measurement, rulers or calibration, but care and intent.

Deputy Timmins is correct in his comments about the base and foundation of the expert group and so on. One cannot have a sound building on bad foundations.

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