Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 2 July 2013

Committee on Health and Children: Select Sub-Committee on Health

Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage

7:50 pm

Photo of Éamon Ó CuívÉamon Ó Cuív (Galway West, Fianna Fail)
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I agree that whatever we do must protect the right to life of the woman. For anybody to believe that anybody in this room believes otherwise would be wrong. The explanation given by the Minister and Minister of State on amendment No. 6 is perfectly correct. As the Minister of State said, there is a subtle difference in the Irish version. It is hard to translate it exactly into English. The provision has to be included because in the real world it is very hard to foresee every situation. Some people have complained that what we are trying to do is to give direction to doctors. The whole purpose of the Bill is to clarify issues for doctors, or so we were told.