Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail)
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I welcome Ms McDermott. I am very thankful that she came before us and she has certainly given us much to think about. I hope that her presence here and the reception that she has received from all of the committee members will encourage other witnesses who have declined our invitation to perhaps reconsider and come before us so that we get the broadest possible range of views presented to us. I am very glad to hear that John is doing so well. Ms McDermott's story has been both eye-opening and somewhat horrendous to me with regard to the degree of both direct and indirect pressure brought to bear upon her to terminate the pregnancy. The same would seem to apply to the other families' stories she also circulated here today. I am somewhat surprised that the One More Day group does not primarily focus on addressing this particular issue because, as previous speakers here have said, it would seem that some of the medical professionals in question were actually in breach of the law. One More Day has the knowledge and wherewithal to pursue this matter and bring it to the public. It is a sensitive matter for the mothers involved but I believe that such a move would do the State a great service. I would in no way, shape or form condone any attempt to coerce a woman into having an abortion; in fact I would condemn it outright. The only parallel I can think of in our society are the cases where women who wish to terminate in this country, in the case of fatal foetal abnormality for example, are forced to go full term. I wonder if Ms McDermott might consider that there is quite a strong connection between the pressure that she was put under and the pressure that a great many of women in this country have been put under down through the years and right up to the present.

Moving on to more general matters, I am not sure where Ms McDermott made the leap to reach her conclusion on the eighth amendment. I am at something of a disadvantage here because she did not include much detail on this leap in the document that was circulated to us. I tried to see the Blacks of the transcript during the interval but I just did not have time to do so. I thought that I had perhaps missed a page, which in turn meant that I was not able to really concentrate.

Ms McDermott's main message to us today concerns the eighth amendment. I can very clearly understand that she made a very strong choice. I am sure that it was a difficult choice but from what she has said, there was no hesitation there and I do not that think that the word "abortion" featured in her lexicon at all. She had a choice; she made her choice; it was the right thing for her to do and I support her 100% in that choice. Does she not think, however, that the same compassion should be shown to women who might make a different choice in equally difficult situations?

Is it fair of me to ask if the circumstances of John's birth informed Ms McDermott's views on abortion in general or did she have strong convictions about this beforehand? Has she always been pro-life by conviction or did this result from the unfortunate circumstances of John's birth? Has she been lobbying for the pro-life movement for the entire interim period? A previous speaker asked where One More Day stood on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013. I am not sure whether the group adopted a position on that Act and campaigned on it. I am just trying to see where that particular leap came from so perhaps Ms McDermott might address this.