Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I do not think that is what I am doing. It is certainly not what we are endeavouring to do. We are attempting to do what Dr. Boylan told this committee. Every other doctor probably told the committee a variation thereof. If a pregnancy reaches viability, except under the emergency head which I want to come back to in a minute because it feeds into this conversation, the baby will be delivered. That baby will then receive all the supports that the Deputy, myself and everybody else would humanely expect a baby to receive. As the Deputy said, everything will be thrown at the baby in terms of service provision, supports, and equipment to keep the baby alive and to care for him or her. This is a situation where the doctor is satisfied that the foetus is not viable. If the doctor believes the foetus is viable he or she will deliver it, subject to section 11 with which I will have interplay in a second. If the doctors do not believe the foetus is viable, we will not end up in the scenario the Deputy painted a picture of - and the Deputy did not use the word "cruel" but I think he would agree with its use - in which a doctor would be technically keeping the heart beating but for all intents and purposes everyone, including Mum and Dad, would know that the baby is not alive. That is what we are trying to do.

Section 11 comes into the Deputy's point.