Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I hear a lot from a lot of Deputies today, as well as in a lot of the motions, about freedom of conscience and how absolutely vital and important it is, but for umpteen years I have not heard from any of them about the absolute right to freedom of conscience where people like me are concerned. I did not hear about freedom of conscience for people like me when the Dáil prayer was forced on us and we were forced to stand for it, or with reference to the statue of the Virgin Mary one sees in hospitals. We do not have full freedom of conscience.

I am becoming a little concerned as the debate goes on. Yesterday I said I was not going to come in, but I am becoming quite worried. It is being suggested doctors, nurses and, as some would love to have it, everybody else will be able to object to providing abortions. All they will be required to do is tell somebody about a website or a 24-hour helpline. That is not what I understood by "transfer of care". The Minister needs to be a little more specific. He was very specific when he wanted to include periods and dates in the law, but he is not being as specific in this instance. I accept the point he made yesterday that "as soon as may be" means a little earlier than we all thought. However, a specific time should be outlined. It should be 24 hours, as proposed in one of the motions. The wording "as soon as may be" is a little too vague. Notwithstanding all of the great doctors in the country, there are some who will actively frustrate women and pregnant people in seeking to have an abortion in this country. They certainly will. Some nurses and midwives will too. They just do not agree or accept that it is a freedom of conscience issue for the woman having an abortion. They accept freedom of conscience only in their case. I have visions of women being passed from Billy to Jack.

If one goes to a doctor and is told there is a website and that is the doctor's duty done, that is not enough. We need to be a little more specific.