James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

What I am saying is that the amendments are unnecessary. I fully acknowledge what Deputy Seamus Healy has said about the Supreme Court's judgment in the X case, that the risk does not need to be either immediate or inevitable. As a consequence of ministerial amendment No. 16, amendments Nos. 17 and 18 fell.

Perhaps I can refer to my notes in dealing with the other contributions made. Deputy Denis Naughten asked about the differentiation between induction and a medical procedure. Of course, one would argue that an induction was a medical procedure. One can argue the difference between surgical procedures and medical procedures. However, the judgment in the X case is not specific in this regard. It refers to a termination of pregnancy, whether it be medical or surgical, and mentions termination, as opposed to what some refer to as abortion, which others believe is destruction. In the way in which the Bill is worded, it is clear that the termination of the pregnancy must be done having every regard to preserving the life of the unborn. At this point I do not see the necessity to differentiate between the two.

In regard to the notice of failed application referred to by Deputy Michael Creed, we discussed the whole difficulty in this area earlier. Let me give a few scenarios. If a lady is suicidal and approaches a psychiatrist, having been referred by her GP, he or she will assess the risk and after a week form an opinion on whether this is really a serious risk and that in his or her opinion she should or should not be certified. She seeks a second opinion and during the course of the second week things change. Let us look at the scenarios. First, she may have had a miscarriage. Do we report this? Second, she may have had a change of heart and, third, the psychiatrist may have decided that it was not appropriate. The first psychiatrist who had formed the original opinion may be of a similar mind and another week having elapsed, things may have changed. I do not believe it is practical to report in such situations. I have had long conversations with certain other members in this regard.