Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

May I speak, please? I think I have the floor. Part 4 says that consent to a termination of pregnancy is voluntary and informed only and if alternatives to the termination of pregnancy have been advised. There is only one alternative to the termination of a pregnancy and that is the continuation of a pregnancy. I do not know why that is there. I had a read through it. I note that most of those proposing it will never be in that situation. I am not sure what the intention of this is other than to say to the thousands of woman who have had to have a termination that they did not know what they were doing. It seems a judgmental amendment. I do not mean this in a disrespectful way, but there is something very patronising about deciding that an adult woman who is about to undergo a medical procedure does not know what she is doing and is not able to get the facts. Anyone who has had a termination, or has accompanied a friend or relative to England to access a termination, will know that all of the information that a person requires and needs to know can be accessed. Indeed, the desire to be informed as a woman undergoing a medical or surgical procedure is there, and the information is there. I find it very disrespectful that somebody thinks it needs to be put into law that a woman would be obliged to find out the sort of information that, if she needs it, she will find anyway.

I stand over the comments I made. This is misogynistic in its intent and there are elements of it that are laughable. The idea of a DVD is a bit outdated. Of course there are not alternatives to the termination of pregnancy. There is only one. A woman either terminates the pregnancy or continues with it. There are a lot of factual inaccuracies in this. I will not support it. I will vote against it because the intention of it is clear, regardless of whether the proposers want to admit that here in this room. The intention of it is crystal clear and, as a woman, a mother and a grandmother, I will not stand over that, nor will I support its inclusion in legislation.