Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I am astounded that in her testimony Ms McDermott spoke about some of the parents being told that their pregnancy was futile, that the foetus was like the Michelin man, or that in the case of a baby who had Down's syndrome, the parents were constantly contacted after each hospital appointment, to try to make them change their mind and have an abortion. Has Ms McDermott never dealt with a parent who would make a complaint to the Irish Medical Organisation, the management of the hospital or the Garda about this sort of harassment? If she has not does she think that encouraging these people to complain, so that this type of treatment is dealt with, would be a good role for her charity? Everybody would find it quite shocking that any parent would be treated in this manner. That is one question.

Moreover, Ms McDermott spoke about the abortion industry, and how its for-profit nature puts another pressure on people to have an abortion. I know she does not want to get into a big philosophical discussion about it, but would that logic not tell her that abortion should therefore be free, safe and legal, so that there is no profit attached to it? The corollary of what Ms McDermott is arguing is that abortion should become a maternity or reproductive service that women can avail of.

I would like Ms McDermott to to comment on the fact that her group is angry about the way hospitals have treated these parents, and the discussion about how badly they were treated is what brought them together, yet they do not seem to complain about it.

I would also imagine that Ms McDermott is very angry that this Government and other Governments have not signed up to the United Nations Convention for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, that they continue to cut special needs services for children in schools, and that we have over 3,000 homeless children. I wonder if her charity is engaged in fighting those kinds of things, and in trying to improve those aspects of society for the children that are actually born. I am really interested as to why they do not complain about the treatment that is meted out to them as parents.