Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Wednesday, 29 November 2017

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution

Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital

1:30 pm

Photo of Catherine NooneCatherine Noone (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am not sure if Mr. Thompson is familiar with the report of the Citizens' Assembly or if he has had an opportunity to read it. The citizens voted on a variety of reasons.

Reason 11 was that the unborn child has a significant foetal abnormality that is likely to result in death before or shortly after birth. The Citizens' Assembly favoured applying this only up to 22 weeks of gestation. This is an issue that the committee has to grapple with and I appreciate that Dr. Thompson has a different legal framework. We are not commenting on that framework, good, bad or indifferent, but we must grapple with this issue. Could Mr. Thompson comment on the workability of this? Is it feasible?

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