Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I, at least, can draw a distinction. I am talking about how I view the situations that can arise. I fear that, despite all the assurances that the Minister and Minister of State, Deputy Alex White, have given us, there is no certainty that the courts might not, in a given scenario, present us with a set of circumstances and a result at which we will all be shocked. It is feasible and can happen. It is provided for. The circumstances I have described are not so improbable because the greater number, perhaps, of young women seeking the termination of a pregnancy are resorting to the Internet to gain access to imported medications. One may call them what one will. It is not beyond the bounds of possibility that a scenario such as the one I describe will arise. I definitely do not want to see a young woman in such circumstances equated with the providers of terminations, those who would perform backstreet abortions or accredited professionals within appropriate institutions named in this Bill acting outside the law. This is why I did not seek to delete section 22. We all understand and accept that what I have outlined must not be. There is a distinction to be made, however. I am willing to concede that the amendment's formulation is not perfect but the feasibility and achievability of its objective merit further consideration.