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

I move amendment No. 32:

In page 10, to delete lines 4 to 14, and substitute the following:"(1) 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) subject to section 19, three medical practitioners, having examined the pregnant woman, have jointly certified in good faith that--

(i) there is a real and substantial risk of loss of the woman's life by way of suicide, and
(ii) in their reasonable opinion, that risk can only be averted by carrying out the medical procedure,

and
(b) that medical procedure is carried out by an obstetrician at an appropriate institution.".

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 that it was completely 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, I sought a drafting amendment to switch the order of the requirements in section 9, as I did in sections 7 and 8. I commend these amendments to the committee.