Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I thank Professor O'Keane for coming in today.

There are just a couple of things I want to touch on. Professor O'Keane's presentation was very helpful.

On this division of mind and body health which Professor O'Keane referred to as dualism, and which she stated today is found by the Citizens' Assembly to be the entirely wrong approach, she quotes a study showing that, according to her statement: "Pregnancy is associated with increases in anxiety and depressive symptoms and is the highest risk period in a woman's life for depression." The following are three questions around that whole concept. Is an unplanned or forced pregnancy a threat to the short and long-term mental health of the woman carrying it and can it cause mental harm to others around her? When a couple - two people together - are challenged by an unplanned or unexpected pregnancy, what effects does this pregnancy have upon the mental health of the man? When a couple seek a termination together, is there any evidence that the male partner can suffer from mental health challenges, such as stress, depression, guilt, shame and emotional pain also? Has Professor O'Keane any experience with the effects on the men in the situation?

I am conscious that some people are trying to shut down a debate regarding mental health grounds by proclaiming that abortion is not a solution for suicidal ideation. Would Professor O'Keane agree that, while the act of administering an abortion may not per sebe a solution, circumstances can differ from woman to woman and the option to access an early termination is far more likely to result in better outcomes for the mental health of the woman and her partner?

In Professor O'Keane's professional opinion, should mentally-ill pregnant women who do not want to be pregnant be subject to internment until they have delivered a child and would this be harmful to their mental health? Are Ireland's laws acceptable to retain without alteration? Do they adequately assist women who are too poor to travel for a termination who may be immigrants without papers - Professor O'Keane spoke about women with diminished mental and physical capacity - or women who are psychiatrically unwell to the point of psychosis, delusion or catatonia? What did we do in the past and what do we do currently with poor people, mentally unwell people or those with diminished capacity? What I am trying to get at here is what Professor O'Keane spoke about in her statement. Who is left behind? Really, that is what I am getting at here. I would ask Professor O'Keane to elaborate on some of that in her professional capacity.