Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour)

Today, 12 women will have travelled across the water to access abortion services, and tomorrow, another 12 women will make that journey. This will continue for the foreseeable future, as day in and day out, women are forced to leave their homes to access a service that should be provided to them when they are in need. The story of abortion in Ireland is long and has, as of yet, no satisfactory ending. In the past 30 years alone we have had three referenda, committee reports and recommendations and a multitude of legal cases. I know the Bill before this House today seeks to provide some legislative certainty to the vacuum that has not been filled from these reports, and in that regard I am somewhat supportive of it. However, I do not feel that this legislation goes far enough. It is limited in its scope and does not address all of the issues that I think the expert group is obliged to address.

The expert group, comprising members with appropriate medical and legal expertise, is due to report in a couple of months, and I hope and assume it will address the wider issues not included in this Bill. For example, in legislating for the X case, which is what the Bill before us will do, the risk to the life of the mother will be covered but not the risk to health. The ethical dilemmas in this for doctors are many. A doctor will intervene when a serious health risk presents and will not wait for a patient's health to deteriorate. It is also quite clear that a risk to one's health can just as quickly become a risk to life and pregnancy may exacerbate risks to women with pre-existing conditions.

It is also important to note that the law of no other country allows for abortion only to save the life but not to preserve the health of the pregnant woman. Many other points are not addressed by this legislation, including the lack of availability of abortion in cases where there are fatal foetal abnormalities, rape and incest. Another very significant issue not dealt with by this Bill is the reality of the financial, psychological, and physical burdens that so many women experience when travelling abroad, and this reality must be addressed because there is a face and a story behind each decision made. Not one of them is taken lightly, and stories of abortion in recent newspaper publications and which we heard today have highlighted some of them. The face and the heart of a person who goes through with an abortion is given the humanity that can, I feel, be lost when one refers to simple letters of an alphabet like X, C, D and A, B and C. Therefore, I firmly believe that the expert group should address more than what is contained in this Bill and I firmly believe it has a responsibility to do that.

I am a Roman Catholic but I do not need prayers said for my immortal soul because I think women should have access to abortion. One of the women who spoke so bravely to The Irish Times stated that she believed in a loving God and will not be damned for what she did. I fully support her, and like her, I will not be damned for standing by my beliefs. I also believe in the Labour Party and am a proud member of it. The two are not inconsistent, although some in the media would have people believe they are. On this issue, as with so many others, this is not about being liberal or conservative but rather doing the right thing when the wrong course would be easier. As a people, we are all too familiar with what happens when that particular course is taken.

I will oppose the Bill, but in doing so, I hope that when the expert group reports, it will make comprehensive recommendations that will be broader in scope than that contained here. I am grateful that a conversation on this topic has been possible in the Dáil and I thank Deputy Clare Daly for making it so. I am aware that many in powerwould prefer for this to go away so that the stories of abortion can continue without end. I also note that a Dáil, the vast majority of which is made up of men, is deciding and has decided in the past on the rights of women. I trust the irony of this is not lost on the House.

We must end the practice where 12 women a day have no other option but to travel abroad and I firmly believe that the expert group must deal with the A, B and C judgment in its widest sense and, in doing so, speak truth to power. I am certain it will have the political support to implement the recommendations if it does so.

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