Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I heard many people talk about this in the past during the debates on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act in the Dáil and Seanad. I specifically remember Dr. Mahony, the master of Holles Street hospital, make the point that when there is only life as the ground there is far too thin a line between a serious risk to health - these are not her words but my interpretation of them - and that risk to health being a risk to life. In my view that was the cause of Savita Halappanavar's situation. One could not make the intervention until one believed it was a risk to her life. We are trying to clarify that it is not necessary to wait until the woman is about to die and that the doctor is able to intervene at an earlier stage when he or she believes there is a serious risk to her health. What we are trying to do in this clause is ensure that medics can interact at an earlier stage, before waiting for a horrific situation where the woman is at risk of losing her life. I am not being facetious but we are not trying to say that one can have a termination in Ireland on the broad ground of health. We can all have health issues, particularly pregnant women, so it must be a serious risk.

We know what we are trying to do here. There is a broad situation in early pregnancy, where there is no specific indication required and it is a woman's choice made in consultation with her doctor. After that we are saying it is illegal in Ireland to have a termination beyond 12 weeks except where there is a risk to the woman's life or a serious risk to her health before it gets to that or there is a fatal foetal abnormality or an emergency. That is where we are trying to go. There is no broader ground in the proposition that was put to the people which referred to terminations on broader health grounds. Our medics know what they are trying to identify, which is making sure they can make the intervention before the risk becomes a risk to life. No woman in this country should have to wait until there is a risk to her life before a doctor can make an intervention.