Kate O'Connell (Dublin Bay South, Fine Gael)
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I agree with Deputy O'Reilly's comments. To my mind there is an issue with amendment No. 7 in that the word "abortion" is in it and we heard this morning that there is a constitutional issue there. I would like to be able to support the amendment if a vote was called but obviously my preference is for amendment No. 9, which I tabled. I think we could park all four amendments, Nos. 7 to 10, inclusive, if we could get an agreement that we could revisit the language. It is universally accepted by those proposing this group of amendments that the language is not appropriate. I have spoken to the Minister about this but I am exceptionally uncomfortable with termination of pregnancy being defined as the ending of the life of a foetus. It is a departure from the essence of the evidence produced by the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution.

I have not read that correspondence from the 24 doctors to which the Minister referred. I would like to see it from all angles. We are all focused on getting the best possible definition that does not leave women stigmatised and that women, and nobody else, are at the centre.