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

The amendment provides that a person who has indicated publicly his or her opposition to abortion or terminations in the circumstances outlined in the Bill should be excluded from any panel charged with making decisions in that regard. There is at least a danger that such a person might bring his or her personal views or biases to bear in making a judgment as to whether a woman has an entitlement to an abortion as set out in the legislation, namely, where there is a threat to her life. The concern is that the process of adjudication in such circumstances might be clouded by a practitioner's personal opinions. It is a very straightforward proposal.