Ms Selina Bonnie:

I thank the committee for the opportunity to speak to it on behalf of Independent Living Movement Ireland, ILMI, to highlight why assisted human reproduction and international surrogacy are relevant to the lives and dreams of disabled persons. My statement is based on my experience as a disabled person, mother and reproductive justice activist. I am vice chair of the ILMI, a member of the Assisted Human Reproduction Coalition and a regional ambassador for the NUI Galway centre for disability law and policy's Re(al) Productive Justice initiative. I am also a survivor,and I do not use that word lightly, of the assisted human reproduction system in Ireland.

The aim of the ILMI is to support disabled people to achieve independent living, choice and control over our lives and full participation in society as equal citizens. As a national representative disabled persons' organisation, the ILMI promotes the philosophy of independent living and works to build a truly inclusive society. The ILMI is a member of the Assisted Human Reproduction Coalition in response to the glaring absence of voices and experiences of people identifying as disabled in the oral and written submissions to the pre-legislative scrutiny of the assisted human reproduction Bill in 2017. We believe joining with like-minded reproductive justice groups and working in an intersectional way will be the most effective way to achieve rights-based assisted human reproduction legislation and services in Ireland.

I do not intend to detail recommendations regarding international surrogacy in my statement because I believe my colleagues here this morning have provided, or will provide, that expertise borne from their lived or professional experience. I stress the ILMI is in complete agreement with the contributions being made by the coalition members. The purpose of my statement is to put the voice of a disabled person who has lived experience of infertility, and the need for inclusive access to assisted human reproduction, an important component of reproductive justice, on record. I stress the importance of the committee's deliberations and recommendations being underpinned by an understanding of intersectionality.

Reproductive justice is the ability to make decisions and have choices respected around becoming a parent or not. This includes fertility; contraception, including assisted human reproduction, abortion, pregnancy and birth; and parenting, including fostering and adoption. The Re(al) Productive Justice project has identified discrimination for disabled people on these issues in many forms. These include ableist attitudes among assisted human reproduction, maternity and parenting service staff, a lack of accessible information across all stages of reproductive decision-making, and increased interventions and monitoring of disabled parents that is disproportionate to non-disabled parents.

The narrative around disabled persons can be very one-dimensional and an intersectional approach is required. Intersectionality is a framework for understanding how social identities such as gender, race, ethnicity, social class, religion, sexual orientation, ability, and gender identity overlap with one another. Understanding intersectionality with regard to disability is essential for the creation of appropriate laws and policies and the design and delivery of accessible inclusive services. What makes disability unique is that anyone, regardless of age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or socioeconomic status, can become a disabled person at any stage in his or her life. This fundamental fact should underpin the work of committee members on this committee and in their individual responsibilities and Departments to ensure disability does not continue to be a separate section or action within mainstream strategies and laws, if included at all.

According to the census in 2016, 13.5% of the population are disabled persons. Almost half are disabled women. Disabled people with genetic or hereditary impairments, particularly disabled women, because the female body is the primary site of most assisted human reproduction treatments, often meet significant resistance from the medical profession when attempting to access assisted fertility services. I and my non-disabled husband, through his association with me, have experienced this discrimination. My journey to motherhood took 15 years and involved two miscarriages, one pre-term daughter who lived for one hour, one failed IVF treatment and, finally, in 2007, the birth of our precious daughter. Our journey also included exclusion from intercountry adoption due to my being considered incapable of being a mother due to being a disabled woman. Based on my personal experience and my experience as an activist and academic in the area of reproductive justice for disabled people, I have significant concerns about the Health (Assisted Human Reproduction) Bill 2022 and its potentially negative impact on the rights of disabled people to access assisted human reproduction services. I am especially concerned that the sections addressing the welfare of the child, pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and criteria regarding approval of intending parents will not be informed by a rights-based understanding of the abilities of disabled persons.

The purpose of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, UNCRPD, is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments that, in interaction with various barriers, may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others. Article 23 of the convention is concerned with respect for home and the family, including the right of disabled persons to found a family. Ireland ratified the UNCRPD in 2018 and the impending legislation should be cognisant of this.

Every individual has the power to effect change. The members of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on International Surrogacy have a greater power and, therefore, a greater responsibility to use their power, individually and collectively, to effect change. Throughout their deliberations regarding international surrogacy I ask them to remember intersectionality. Disabled people are more than just disabled people. We are everywhere. Anyone can become a disabled person at any stage in life and we have a right to have our needs considered and met with dignity and in ways that are sensitive to the diversity of our experiences, backgrounds and family composition. I thank the committee.