Mr. Tom O'Malley:

If that matter arises, then another important policy decision would have to be taken. Who should be the first port of call? I presume a GP or a hospital. Ultimately, the decision will be who should actually decide whether to permit the termination to take place, assuming that it is not freely available in any event. If abortion was a specific ground then in all circumstances, somebody would have to decide whether the grounds had been satisfied or not. That is a comparatively simple enough scenario in a sense that there would be some evidence or supporting material to back up the person's claim that she had been raped. I absolutely agree with the Deputy. I was sorry that, in my own presentation, I could not be more helpful about it because it is a really difficult matter.

The second scenario refers to where the person comes in. Again, in all probability perfectly truthfully, the person says that she has been the victim of a criminal offence but has never reported it until now, two or three months or whatever down the road. If we insist on some kind of validation and verification of that claim then that is when one would need to have some kind of special panel to deal with the matter. Either an individual or a group would have to be designated to evaluate that claim. Obviously the matter could be stressful for everyone concerned, including the person who seeks the abortion.