Richard Boyd Barrett (Dún Laoghaire, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Chairman for his indulgence because I have to attend a finance committee meeting shortly but I want to make a number of points to the Minister of State. I will begin where he concluded. I agree with the Minister when he says that delay is tantamount to not vindicating people's rights in this case and for that reason I agree wholeheartedly with what he said about Deputy Mulherin's suggestions. It would be a threat to women's lives if we were to take on board those suggestions but I ask the Minister to follow through on that logic when it comes to the issue of the number of doctors. The Minister has admitted that because there is an unborn life in this equation, he is establishing a higher bar for certification as to the threat to a woman's life when it comes to suicidal feelings than would normally be the case were there not an unborn child in the equation. That is diluting a woman's right to life because-----