Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

On the question of human rights, I have heard the Commissioner for Human Rights of the Council of Europe say human rights do not apply before birth. Professor Binchy was a member of the Irish Human Rights Commission at one point. I note with concern that the Convention on the Rights of the Child refers, in its preamble, to the right of the child before as well as after birth but this appears to be completely negatived by what appears to be a clique of people who adopt the cloak of human rights but who, increasingly, are interpreting it to exclude one whole human being at the heart of this debate. In other words, they see only one life worthy of being accorded respect for human dignity and human rights whereas Professor Binchy and those of his ilk on the human rights scene have always seen two people. Is it of concern to him that, effectively, human rights are losing their way and are being hijacked by people who do not want to see any rights. I note Ms Zampas's reluctance to get into the business of gestational limits but surely that very reluctance of the human rights community to talk about gestational limits shows that they really do not give a damn about any unborn child's rights.