Clare Daly (Dublin Fingal, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not being smart about it. I am quite sure many of the voters in my constituency are incredibly sophisticated but I can guarantee I did not meet one person who said he or she was voting for the heads of the Bill because it provides for a 14 year criminal sanction. It is just not true. All the evidence from the studies carried out suggests that even people who strongly object to abortion, and who believe they themselves would never have one, do not believe a woman or any medical practitioner acting in good faith should be penalised. That is not an opinion that is common only in Ireland but abroad also.

The problem with the wording "good faith" is that it might be a defence but it leaves the practitioner open to prosecution. Given the background to this issue, there will be a slight barrier to access, and we all believe access is extremely important. A criminal sanction is not needed to protect the foetus. The foetus has rights, which grow as the gestational period progresses. After the 12 weeks, the foetus has considerable protection. A criminal sanction does not need to be specified for the foetus to have that protection and nor are the words "ending the life of the foetus" required to provide that protection. I strongly agree that Deputy O'Connell's wording is preferable. I am not saying that the Government has not tried to strike a balance but it has erred too far in the other direction.

The Irish Family Planning Association, IFPA, made good points in its observations that the only basis for having a specific criminal sanction is if there is a demonstrable public interest therein which would identify potential harm done to women that cannot be dealt with in the normal medical regulation and criminal justice system. There is enough protection in the criminal justice system and medical regulation to do what we want to do without giving doctors, nurses or whomever at a later date that extra headache. In fairness, the IFPA made the point well that if the Government believes there is something that causes potential harm to women, it should be listed as a potential offence and dealt with rather than being left vague in this context.

While I recognise what the Minister says, he has not achieved the balance of what the Oireachtas committee recommended. We were not referring to protection from a potential legal action but rather to the international community's recommendation of full decriminalisation. It is necessary, especially when one considers our history on this issue. I do not mean to be derogatory but some of the points made by Deputies are not really relevant to whether there is a criminal sanction in this section.