John Dolan (Independent)
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My notion of the right to choose is that it also implies the right to make a different choice. I may choose to join a trade union but next week I might choose to unjoin. I will give the example of a mother with a baby with Down's syndrome. Hopefully there is a partner but I will not complicate the matter by talking about them at the moment. The availability of services and supports, including soft supports, and the fact that it is culturally okay to have a child with a disability have a bearing on a woman making a choice. How does one make a choice when one does not have a choice? What are the views of the witnesses as to the responsibilities of the State to enable a woman in such a situation to have an equal opportunity to make a choice? In this case she would know that there were supports, whatever her decision, and that if she decided to give birth there would be a decent chance of dignity and a future for her child, and that she would be respected as a mother.