Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is a pity the people who were quoting the Dr. Ferguson study have left the room. Dr. Ferguson clarified the position on his research on our national broadcaster four years ago. The man who is continually quoting him says the interpretation of Dr. Ferguson's data is that abortion is bad for mental health. Dr. Ferguson stated that he had completed a review of the evidence and his view was that there was no evidence that abortion mitigated any mental health risks of unwanted pregnancy. That was based upon a review of the limited research and he said that the first point was that the research was not particularly good and any conclusion drawn should be made cautiously. That was his major conclusion; he could not find any evidence of benefits. He went on to say that abortion does not improve mental health of women and, has no mental health benefits and poses more risks for unwanted pregnancy. That is on the record. Dr. Ferguson also said that research has found that abortion has no therapeutic value in reducing the mental health risk. Instead, the evidence suggests that abortion may be associated with an increased risk of some mental health problems. Dr. Ferguson said that statement was true. He found that he compared women who had an abortion with equivalent groups of women who had unwanted pregnancies or intended pregnancies, the women having abortions had slightly higher rates of mental health. Basically, what he said about his study was that there are limitations in it. My take is that Dr. Ferguson is not happy about the conclusions that have been continually drawn by certain groups on his work to be drawn on his work. It is important that when someone is being quoted as saying X, but is actually saying Y, then it has to be called out. Anyway, I thank the professor for coming in to us. It has been helpful and in particular his statement has been helpful to me.

The Child Care Law Reporting Project published known facts recently in the case of a pregnant girl who sought an abortion under the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act on the suicide ground. Instead, she was briefly detained under the Mental Health Act. Ultimately, she was denied the abortion she requested. It appears that, instead, her pregnancy was terminated via early induction or delivery. This is being claimed by some groups as a good outcome. These are people who want to retain the eighth amendment, even though it was determined that it was indeed her informed decision to end her pregnancy. Does this raise any concerns for Professor McCarthy? As a psychiatrist, is he concerned that medical professionals might err on the side of caution and end up detaining women under the Mental Health Act if a health ground were placed in law? Does Professor McCarthy think that forcibly detaining and interring women is a good solution for health professionals and women? How could we mitigate that risk?