Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 146:

In page 15, between lines 28 and 29, to insert the following:“Information and informed consent

22.(1) Except in a case of an immediate risk to the life, or of serious harm to the health, of the pregnant woman, where it is immediately necessary to carry out the termination of pregnancy in order to avert that risk, no termination of pregnancy shall be carried out without the voluntary and informed consent of the pregnant woman.

(2) Consent to a termination of pregnancy is voluntary and informed if and only if:

(a) the medical practitioner who is to perform the termination of pregnancy has informed the woman, orally and in person, of the following:

(i) medically accurate information that a reasonable patient in the position of the pregnant woman would consider material to the decision of whether or not to undergo the termination of pregnancy, including:

(I) a description of the proposed termination of pregnancy method;

(II) the immediate and long-term medical risks associated with the proposed termination of pregnancy method including, but not limited to, the risks of infection, hemorrhage, cervical or uterine perforation and danger to subsequent pregnancies;

(III) the medical risks associated with carrying her child to full term; and

(IV) alternatives to the termination of pregnancy;

(ii) the probable gestational age of the foetus at the time the termination of pregnancy is to be performed; and

(iii)the probable anatomical and physiological characteristics of the foetus at the time the abortion is to be performed.

(b) a suitably qualified person has informed the woman, orally and in person, of:

(i) the supports and benefits available for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care;

(ii) the fact that the father of the foetus is legally liable to assist in the support of the child, even in instances where he has offered to pay for the termination of pregnancy.

(3) Where it is intended to perform a termination of pregnancy on foetus who is twenty weeks’ gestation or more, the health care professional intending to perform the termination of pregnancy or a qualified person assisting the health care professional shall, orally and in person, offer information on foetal pain to the pregnant woman.

(4) The information offered in accordance with subsection (3) shall include, but shall not be limited to, the following:

(a) that, by twenty weeks, the foetus possesses all anatomical links in his or her nervous system (including spinal cord, nerve tracts, thalamus, and cortex) that are necessary in order to feel pain;

(b) that a foetus who is twenty weeks’ gestation or more is fully capable of experiencing pain;

(c) the steps in the termination of pregnancy procedure intended to be performed and at which steps in the termination of pregnancy procedure the foetus is capable of feeling pain;

(d) that maternal anesthesia typically offers little pain prevention for the foetus; and

(e) that an anesthetic or analgesic is available in order to minimise and/or alleviate pain to the foetus.

(5) Where it is intended that a termination of pregnancy be performed using abortion-inducing drugs, the health care professional who supplies the drugs to the woman intending to have the termination of pregnancy shall, orally and in person, inform the woman of the following:

(a) that it may be possible to reverse the effects of the abortion-inducing drugs should she change her mind, but that time is of the essence; and

(b) that information on and assistance with reversing the effects of abortion-inducing drugs is available in the printed materials and DVD offered to her.

(6) For the purposes of this section, the phrase “abortion-inducing drugs” means a medicine, drug, or any other substance prescribed or dispensed with the intent of terminating the clinically diagnosable pregnancy of a woman, with knowledge that the termination will with reasonable likelihood end the life of the foetus, other than drugs that may cause such a termination, but which are prescribed for other medical indication.

(7) The Health Service Executive shall cause to be published printed materials and an informational DVD and shall develop and maintain a secure internet website, which may be part of an existing website, to provide the information required by and described in this section.

(8) No information regarding persons using the website referred to in subsection (7)shall be collected or maintained.

(9) The Health Service Executive shall monitor the website referred to in subsection (7)on a weekly basis to prevent and correct tampering.

(10) The materials referred to in subsection (7)shall include:

(a) information to a woman contemplating abortion of public and private agencies and services available to assist a woman through pregnancy, upon childbirth, and while her child is dependent including, but not limited to, adoption agencies;

(b) information as to available medical assistance, supports and benefits for prenatal care, childbirth, and neonatal care;

(c) information on the support obligations of the father of a child who is born.

(11) The materials referred to in subsection (7)shall also include the following statement:

There are many public and private agencies willing and able to help you to carry your child to term, and to assist you and your child after your child is born, whether you choose to keep your child or to place her or him for adoption. The law requires that your health care professional give you the opportunity to call agencies like these before you undergo an abortion.

(12) Nothing in this Act shall operate to create an entitlement by a pregnant woman under the age of eighteen years to consent to medical treatment.

(13) A medical practitioner who carries out a termination of pregnancy in accordance with section 11 shall certify in writing in addition to the matters referred to in section 11(1):

(a) the nature of the medical emergency; and

(b) in cases where the voluntary and informed consent of the woman concerned was not obtained, the reason for its not having been obtained.

(14) The failure to comply with the requirements of this section shall provide the basis for:

(a) a civil action for damages (including aggravated and exemplary damages) by the woman concerned for breach of statutory duty;

(b) professional disciplinary action against the health professional concerned.

(15) In any matter referred to insubsection (14)the court shall, upon application by the woman concerned or of its own motion, allow a woman to proceed using solely her initials or a pseudonym and may make such other protective orders as it considers necessary and appropriate to preserve the privacy of the woman concerned.”.

I made the point yesterday that information was key in any decision a person made and that the more accurate the information provided, the better for the individual in making the decision. I also made the point that I opposed the situation in bygone times where information on abortion was legally withheld from women.

I thought it should never have been the case. Everyone should have full information when making a decision, and that information should be medically accurate. That is the purpose of this amendment. It seeks to ensure there is informed consent. I have had experience of people who have had abortions and who have said to me that there was information they wished they had at the time which would have helped them in making those decisions, which is not to say they would have made different decisions, but it would have improved their ability to make the decisions. That is the purpose of this amendment. The amendment takes into consideration the fact that, because there is an element within the Bill that allows for emergency abortions and other provisions that allow for elective abortions, such consent and information can obviously be impossible to deliver in cases of emergency, such as a risk to life or a serious risk to health.

I am not a big fan of the term "cooling-off period", but it is interesting that the Minister mentioned it yesterday and said it was a disgusting term to use. "Cooling-off period" are actually the words the Tánaiste, Deputy Coveney, used in the campaign, and I do not think Deputy Coveney is disgusting when he-----