Lisa Chambers (Mayo, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witnesses for their presentations and for their engagement on this matter.

What has been clear from the witnesses' comments is that requiring proof of a victim would further compound the trauma. Most of us are in agreement that not many citizens would be supportive of the suggestion that a woman should be required to continue with a pregnancy against her will if she were raped. There is support in the country generally, albeit not among everyone, for a change on this niche issue. Obviously, we are considering many other issues.

Mr. O'Malley might correct me if I am wrong, but he made the interesting point that, if there remained some constitutional protection for the unborn, we could not get around the necessity to require some proof because we would need to try to balance the rights of the unborn and the mother. I do not know whether it was the German way to which Mr. O'Malley referred. Does it require a police report? I am not sure which jurisdiction it was.