Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for coming in. Deputy Jan O'Sullivan was right that we need to contextualise why we are here. I think we are here discussing this topic because repeatedly it has been shown that Irish people believe that in circumstances where somebody has become pregnant as a result of rape, the person should not be forced to continue with the pregnancy against her will. That does not, in any way, undermine or devalue the opposite decision made by people who decide to continue with their pregnancy. It is a case of recognising the other circumstances of people who may be married and have other children and who may have to grapple with issues and the impact on their own mental health of dealing with a pregnancy as a result of rape and who cannot continue with the pregnancy. It is their rights that we are considering here and time after time, the Irish people have accepted that. We, as a committee, are considering how to best provide for that situation. The witnesses have answered that question already. There is not a chance in hell of doing that by any circumstances requiring any issue of proof. Even in the most basket case of countries, nobody requires judicial authorisation. No countries do so, not even ones with restrictive regimes. Only a handful of countries in Europe require a police report.

As the witnesses have clearly said, to provide any sort of declaration to anybody constitutes a re-traumatisation of the victim. Are we not over-complicating things here? As Mr. O'Malley has said, the issue of proof only comes up if we deal with exceptions-based legislation. The way most countries in Europe deal with this matter is by making abortion available in the first trimester without any restriction as to the reason and thereafter based on medical grounds. Would we not do ourselves a favour by providing that scenario thus avoiding re-traumatising women?

I am unclear about the point made by Dr. Eogan about a study. Does the study show that some people who become pregnant only present after the first trimester?