Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 3:

In page 6, between lines 2 and 3, to insert the following:" "fatal foetal abnormality" means a medical condition suffered by a foetus such that it is incompatible with life outside the womb;".

These amendments relate to the question of inevitable miscarriage and fatal foetal abnormality. These are very important issues that are not dealt with in the Bill. They could and should be dealt with in the Bill, and they would be fully in compliance with the Constitution. We have all had briefings from the group called "Terminations for Medical Reasons", and these are sad and tragic cases of wanted pregnancies that simply become very difficult. Approximately 1,500 such cases occur each year in Ireland and they are very traumatic cases for the women involved and for the families involved. Some of the women involved in these cases have told their own stories, which are very harrowing tales of the difficulties that have arisen. In one case, a lady said the following.

At 22 weeks, we went in for our scan. We were shocked when after nearly two hours scanning, we were told that our baby was incompatible with life and was going to die. We were further shocked when our consultant told us our options were to continue with the pregnancy or to travel to Liverpool.

The story goes on in that vein.

These are cases of wanted pregnancies which unfortunately are very difficult for the women and the families involved.

As I said, cases such as this could be dealt with in the legislation. At the health committee hearings, several eminent legal witnesses indicated this too and that it would be fully compliant with the Constitution.

In the European Court of Human Rights case of D v. Ireland the State invited the court to take the view that these cases should be dealt with in the Irish courts. The judgment stated:

Accordingly, although it was true that Article 40.3.3⁰ had to be understood as excluding a liberal abortion regime, the courts were nonetheless unlikely to interpret the provision with remorseless logic particularly when the facts were exceptional. If, therefore, it had been established that there was no realistic prospect of the foetus being born alive, then there was "at least a tenable" argument which would be seriously considered by the domestic courts to the effect that the foetus was not an "unborn" for the purposes of Article 40.3.3⁰ or that, even if it was an "unborn", its right to life was not actually engaged as it had no prospect of life outside the womb. In the absence of a domestic decision, it was impossible to foresee that Article 40.3.3⁰ clearly excluded an abortion in the applicant's situation in Ireland.

The other amendments deal with inevitable miscarriage. It is difficult to believe that after the sad and unfortunate case of the late Savita Halappanavar, inevitable miscarriage is not dealt with in the Bill. It should be. The Health Service Executive's report on this case took the view that such cases could be dealt with in this legislation. It stated “concerns about the law ... impacted on the exercise of clinical professional judgment” and recommended “the Oireachtas consider the law in relation to the management of inevitable miscarriage in the early second trimester”. In view of this, cases of inevitable miscarriage should be dealt with in this legislation and it would be constitutional to do so.