Professor Veronica O'Keane:

Perhaps I could refer the Senator to some more general reading in this area. Clíona Rattigan's book, What Else Could I Do?: Single Mothers and Infanticide, Ireland, 1900 - 1950 deals with about ten years in 1950s Ireland and the rates of infanticide and maternal morbidity associated with unwanted pregnancies. It is a horrible thing to say and I do not like the reality but before abortion services were introduced, infanticide was a common means of controlling one's reproduction. None of us likes this fact. We did have the Kerry babies case in Ireland and we have had situations like that within the last 50 years. Another book that the Senator should read if she is interested in this topic is Germaine Greer's book, Sex and Destiny: The Politics of Human Fertility, in which the author refers to the history of infanticide and injury which preceded the legalisation of abortion.

On the question of whether I personally favour any restrictions, it is not down to me. I am here because I have been requested to be here to advise on this particular legislation. My only concern with this legislation is that if we are going to introduce a service, that such a service would be accessible, humane and will not involve unnecessary delays.

The last point I want to make relates to the difficulty of identifying the 97% of people correctly. Obviously if somebody is referred to the psychiatry services, we do every single thing we can to prevent that person from killing himself or herself. If somebody comes to us, of course, he or she is at risk of suicide. Nearly everybody who comes to us is at risk of killing himself or herself. The fact that 97% do not go on to kill themselves is exactly what we are trying to do. It is exactly the same with the abortion issue. What we want to do is prevent the suicide of the mother and the death of the foetus, baby, embryo. That is what we are here for.