Dr. Ruth Fletcher:

As I made clear, if there is a guarantee of access in the provisions, it would be the responsibility of the Minister for Health to review and deliver an abortion care service to the highest attainable standards. That type of language is meant to work in tandem with scientific developments and allow for a review of public regulation of the service in order that it can accommodate scientific developments such as the development of the abortion Bill, for instance, but also low-tech developments. A particular trend we are seeing internationally in medicine and science technology, one which the committee does not seem to have picked up on in a significant way, is the increasing involvement of nurses and midwives in the delivery of care, because such involvement helps to deliver a quality local service. There are both low-tech and high-tech ways in which the guarantee of access can seek to maximise the capacity of the law and regulation to respond well to scientific developments.