John Crown (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am very sorry. I regret any offence to the cat community for the latter remark of drawing an analogy between cats and Irish parliamentarians.

There can truly be few situations where the will of the people and the voice of the Constitution have spoken as clearly as they have on the narrowly defined necessity for abortion in very narrow circumstances, ones which entirely relate to the life of the mother, the termination of which life would also by necessity result in the termination of the life of the child. People who are pro-life need to understand what the Bill is about. It is about saving life; it is not about ending life. Those who allege that they have a superior pro-life position to others in that the position of those who support the Bill is somehow less purely pro-life than theirs are working on an assumption which has been tacit, and in some cases explicit in recent days, that a large number of citizens are plotting in advance to game the law, to cheat, to lie and to collude in the death of an unborn child for some secondary gain other than their own health. There is no other way to cut this up. That is the only interpretation that can be put on the suggestion by some that somehow the Bill will give wide access to abortion. I just do not think it is true. We must follow the Constitution.

We all have positions on abortion. It will surprise many of those present to know that I was the recipient of a scathing editorial by Doctors for Choice Ireland who pointed out that I was an anti-choice person. I have to say I am; if choice means having the right to choose to kill someone else, I am anti-choice. I do not support that right. I have a very nuanced position on abortion, which is one that would not make people on either side of this House particularly happy, but it is irrelevant today, as are the considerations of evidence-based psychiatry. We are here to defend the Constitution and in this regard let me remind the committee of the Garda oath:

I will faithfully discharge the duties of a member of the Garda Síochána with fairness, integrity, regard for human rights, diligence and impartiality, upholding the Constitution and the laws and according equal respect to all people.

We have the privilege of sitting in these Chambers without having to swear such an oath and not having to declare our loyalty to the Constitution, something which I hope will be fixed. That is all we are doing today; one Supreme Court verdict, Article 34.4.6° – the decision of the Supreme Court shall in all cases be final and definitive. It is not a case of ignoring it if we do not like it or think it is flawed. There is stuff in the Constitution I do not like but I will live by it and if I want to agitate to change it within the law, I will do it.

It is regrettable that the Minister, the CEO and the-----