Dr. David Kenny:

I can certainly try. The problem that I was attempting to get across was the difficulty of fully understanding the answer to that question. As I mentioned in my response to Senator Ruane’s question, the reality is that all those statements would have to be reconsidered in light of whatever change was proposed. It is certainly one possibility that those rights could essentially be recognised again or recognised to have continued in the aftermath of a simple repeal. That means they could come into play and could be asserted by an interested citizen to challenge a law on abortion, if it was felt that those rights were not being respected by that law. It is possible but I do not know how likely it is.

The same is true if specific situations were listed in the Constitution. If that right persisted alongside, unless the new provision specifically excluded that right while listing certain situations, it is also possible that right could persist in that context and, again, a stricter regime could be required. It probably could not countermand the constitutional text if it said certain situations should not be allowed but it might have some role in interpreting that. Again, unfortunately, it is difficult to say without some specific proposal in front of us and without knowing the minds of the courts at the relevant time.