Rónán Mullen (Independent)
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I welcome Ms Liz McDermott. We are two thirds into the process of the committee and today is the first time somebody who is in favour of the eighth amendment had a platform alone, so to speak, with a session devoted to them. What she has had to say is just so radically different from everything that has gone before. It is so noteworthy.

To correct one thing, Deputy Daly was picking Ms McDermott up on issues around pain and the question of whether abortion is violence. Actually, we have had very scant discussion about the question of foetal pain and I think no discussion about the question of the different types of procedures used. We have certainly had nothing diagrammatic or that would allow us to quiz for ourselves how violent or not abortion is at different stages. That is one of the many things that this committee has turned a blind eye to so far. Perhaps before the end there will be some discussion.

The reason I picked up the fact that Ms McDermott was interrupted - and I think that was also a first - is that while it may not have distracted the witness, I find that type of thing extremely disruptive and I lost what she was saying about Dr. John Parsons. I would be grateful if she would repeat for us what he had to say.

While Ms McDermott is looking for that, I might also ask her another question. There has been some talk about directive counselling and whether people in One Day More should report it. I am not so clear, to be honest, about what is illegal in these situations. For example, a doctor might say, "I feel obliged to tell you that it would be legal if you were to have an abortion in England." I understand Ms McDermott is a lawyer. I am not sure there is such a legal obligation but that would be interesting if there was. We have a Constitution that actually protects the unborn.