Ciara Conway (Waterford, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I thank all the doctors who have given evidence here this morning. My first question is a practical one, looking at that whole issue of pathways. We are very lucky to have four consultant psychiatrists in front of us today. If I was in crisis pregnancy, how long would it take me to see them? That is a real fundamental issue for women and it goes to the core of the issue about pathways. We had five consultants in here this morning. That is nine consultant psychiatrists in the Chamber this morning. If I was in a crisis pregnancy now and was suicidal, how long would it take me to see them? Unless we address that issue, I do not think the legislation can ever become a reality for women who are in distress and who are in crisis.

The second issue, which was touched on earlier, is the criminalisation of women who may have got medication over the Internet for abortion for 14 years. There is another Act and a precedence with which the witnesses may be more familiar than me - that is, the Suicide Act, whereby the person who died by suicide was decriminalised but those who aided or abetted that person faced criminal sanctions. Is that something we should be seeking in this legislation - that we do not criminalise women who seek this life-saving abortion? Of course, we want a deterrent for people who would practise outside of medical guidelines and good medical practice. I would welcome the views of the witness on that issue.

Going back to the issue of pathways, what we need to look at are things that do work in this country. The cervical cancer screening programme is a vital healthcare programme for women in this country that works so efficiently and so effectively and is rolled out by GPs all over the country, giving women an element of choice. Those are the kind of things that we need to look at if we are to make this legislation a practical, efficient and effective reality for women.