Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 51:

In page 9, line 15, to delete "appropriate" and substitute "necessary".

The amendment proposes to change one word. It proposes to change "appropriate", to "necessary". According to the conditions under which a termination is allowable under section 10 because of a risk to life or health, one of the three criteria is that it is appropriate to carry out the termination to avert the risk referred to, which is a risk to life or serious harm to the health, and the foetus has not reached viability. We have had various discussions on these issues. The amendment seeks to change the wording "it is appropriate to carry out a termination" to "it is necessary to carry out a termination". I have tabled the amendment is on behalf of others who feel very strongly about this issue. They have a different view on it to mine but they hold it very sincerely and deeply. This matters a lot to them. It is one word but it matters a lot. Their view is that we should state it is necessary to carry out a termination of pregnancy. That is it. My hope is it does not change the legal situation and that it respects many views throughout the country. I hope it is quite a simple change that we can achieve.