Séamus Healy (Tipperary South, Workers and Unemployed Action Group) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 47:

In page 10, after line 36, to insert the following:
“Duty of care
10. (1) A medical practitioner or medical institution, if contacted by a woman seeking treatment under the provisions of this Act, shall have a duty of care to that woman. Such duty of care shall include, but not be limited to--(a) an obligation to inform the woman as to the pathways of care to which she is entitled,
(b) an obligation, if appropriate, to provide the woman with such treatment to which she is entitled,
(c) an obligation, if such medical practitioner or medical institution cannot provide the medical treatment, to refer the woman to an appropriate medical practitioner or medical institution,
(d) if referring to an appropriate medical practitioner or medical institution, to make such reasonable enquiries as necessary to confirm that the woman has been dealt with appropriately by the medical practitioner or medical institution to which she has been referred.(2) For the avoidance of doubt, nothing in this section shall limit the right of the medical practitioner to conscientious objection under section 17 of this Act.”.

This amendment and amendment No. 78 are to clarify and set out the duty of care of medical practitioners, medical institutions, approved hospitals and hospitals that may not be approved but which may be attended by women in the circumstances in question. A primary objective is to ensure that medical practitioners and medical institutions, be they approved or otherwise, inform women as to the pathways of care and information to which they are entitled.