Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree with the Minister. We debated this matter at considerable length during the all-party committee's hearings and it has been a particularly moot point in discussions on the issue in recent years. We were accused of being frivolous in some ways in allowing abortions to take place where they were not necessary.

We need to keep two points in mind. First, a pregnant woman may suffer from a mental condition that leads to a serious impact on her health and well-being. Second, she may suffer from a medical condition that is likely to have the same impact. Both cases need to be borne in mind and we must try to cater for the eventualities. For example, there are certain conditions that, while seemingly harmless initially, are not harmless if they are ignored. It is important that they not be ignored.

The committee removed the question of socio-economic grounds as a basis for abortion. That was the right thing to do. It was in response to comparisons being made with jurisdictions where there was such ready access that people made the point - I am not referring to committee members, but to people throughout the country - that going a bridge too far might not necessarily be in the best interests of the proposed legislation that would arise as a result of the referendum or of its potential for success.

Even to this day, there are people who dismiss mental health as a basis for concern, but that is not true. It has been proven to be a basis. Similarly, there are people who strongly contend that a medical condition, including a pre-existing one, is not really a matter for concern and will be dealt with in the normal course of events. That is not true either. There have been several instances of women's pre-existing conditions accelerating at a particular stage of their pregnancies. This puts the lives of those women, including some who already have children, in danger. It was felt at the time that we needed to recognise the threat to the woman's life in such circumstances and make strong provision for it in a way that did not take a simple - this is a long phraseology - or frivolous "Will I or won't I" approach. That would never be the case. All of the evidence presented to us during the course of those hearings indicated that the women concerned, including those who had had an abortion, had not been frivolous about it. Some research suggests that abortions were done on different grounds, but they were able to put forward at the hearings the strong view that they did not choose a termination lightly. They thought about it and had considerable qualms of conscience about it. It was at that stage that we concentrated to a significant extent on the degree to which supportive counselling would be available. That still has to be the case. The supportive element that comes from the third party is needed.

It is appropriate that we record at this stage the need to address the issue, which is already proposed in the legislation, and that it was never intended to be a simple or frivolous issue. This is a serious issue affecting the lives of pregnant women who, because we in our legislative role might fail to recognise their vulnerability, find themselves in a difficult situation and have to make a serious decision in order to protect their own lives and ensure they do not leave their families behind.