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

I move amendment No. 28:

In page 9, to delete lines 24 to 34, and substitute the following:"(1) Notwithstanding the generality of section 7, or any determination made or pending pursuant to section 13 of an application under section 10(2), it shall be lawful to carry out a medical procedure in respect of a pregnant woman in accordance with this section in the course of which, or as a result of which, an unborn human life is ended where--

(a) a medical practitioner, having examined the pregnant woman, believes in good faith that there is an immediate risk of loss of the woman's life from a physical illness,
(b) the medical procedure is, in his or her reasonable opinion, immediately necessary in order to save the life of the woman, and
(c) the medical procedure is carried out by the medical practitioner.".

I propose to take amendments Nos. 28 and 30 together. I propose these amendments for the purpose of clarity. While the substance of the provisions of this section will remain unaltered, I wished to ensure it was crystal clear to all concerned that the medical procedures in question would be permissible only if they met the test laid out in the X case judgment. For this reason, as before, I sought a drafting amendment to switch the order of the requirements in sections 7, 8 and 9. We did this in section 7 as well. These clarifying amendments also require some technical drafting amendments to ensure that the order in which the provisions now appear is consistent throughout the Bill. I commend these amendments to the Committee.