Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 6 November 2018

Select Committee on Health

Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Committee Stage

11:00 am

Photo of Stephen DonnellyStephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This set of amendments is actually very important. Amendment No. 58 in my name would provide that, if the certifying medical practitioner was not available to carry out the termination certified as necessary or appropriate, another medical practitioner would be able to carry it out. The Minister has referenced advice he has received from the Royal College of General Practitioners and the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. They wrote a letter to him which they copied to the committee, specifically on this point, on which they were very strong and said the legislation, as it had been tabled, was completely unworkable. This is a really serious issue. They pointed out that a certifying obstetrician might not be available an hour, 12 hours, a day or four days later. He or she might be called to another emergency, might not be working in the hospital later that day, might be on leave, get sick, work across multiple sites and so on. The Bill stipulates that the termination which is certified by two medical practitioners must be carried out by them. The medical community has stated this is completely unworkable.

My amendment does not intend to change anything in the section but to provides that if the medical practitioners referred to above are not available, then it can be carried out by an appropriate medical practitioner. I know how fond the Minister is of the word "appropriate" rather than "necessary", so I have used language that he likes. I hope he will accept this amendment. The unambiguous advice from doctors is that it is needed and that what is there is completely unworkable.

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