Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 16:

In page 6, lines 31 and 32, to delete all words from and including "(1) It" in line 31 down to and including line 32.

Essentially, this amendment provides for the offences section to be taken out of the Bill. We feel that the criminal aspect of this should not be brought into a Bill. We campaigned to have the criminal aspect of the eighth amendment repealed through referendum. We are directed by the Irish Family Planning Association on this as well. UN experts and agencies consistently call for the full realisation of sexual and reproductive rights including access to safe, legal abortion. This includes the UN treaty monitoring bodies. We feel there should be nothing in the Bill that criminalises a woman for accessing abortion services. If a woman goes to a doctor in the ninth or tenth week and cannot access the pill, for example, and has to go somewhere else, is that criminalising the woman? This has to be clarified. We are calling for those provisions to be taken out of the legislation.