Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I move:

That Dáil Éireann:

- extends its deepest sympathy to the family of Savita Halappanavar and recognises that news of her death in such tragic and traumatic circumstances has caused distress to people throughout the country and beyond;

- resolves to await the outcome of the ongoing inquiries into all aspects of this tragedy;

- acknowledges that the Oireachtas must legislate to give effect to the 1992 judgment of the Supreme Court (the X case);

- further acknowledges that the absence of the required legislation denies women protection and the right to obtain a termination in life threatening circumstances and it also creates an ambiguous legal situation for clinicians in those same circumstances;

- regrets that successive Governments and Ministers for Health have failed to legislate in this regard; and

- calls on the Government to: - immediately publish the report of the expert group; and

- immediately introduce legislation to give effect to the 1992 judgment of the Supreme Court in the X case, to protect pregnant women where their lives are in real danger and to give legal certainty to medical professionals.

We add our voice to all of those in Ireland and beyond in expressing our deep sorrow and shock at the death of Ms Savita Halappanavar. To her husband, Praveen, and her family we offer our sympathies and support. We do not know as yet the precise series of events that led to this young woman's death and it is crucial the full facts are established. That is the very least owed to Savita. The inquiry into her death must be thorough, timely, independent and have the full confidence and consent of her husband and family, as well as the broader confidence of the general public.

This motion is a straightforward call for legislation to protect pregnant women when their lives are in danger. It is a call for legislation that gives certainty and protection to the doctors who care for women, urging the Government to publish the long-awaited report of the expert group to facilitate debate and the speedy passage of legislation. It is, by any standards, a modest proposal, a reasonable request for a system that has fudged, prevaricated and failed to act in 20 years.

In 1992, the X case determined the very limited circumstances in which a woman might have a termination of pregnancy in the State. That is 20 years ago. At the time, Mr. Justice Niall McCarthy described the failure of the Legislature to enact appropriate legislation governing access to a termination as no longer unfortunate but inexcusable. Some 20 years on, an ongoing failure to legislate is nothing short of scandalous. Multiple court cases, rulings by the Supreme Court and the European Court of Human Rights, two referenda and seven Governments later, we find ourselves here. Pregnant women continue to be left vulnerable as doctors attempt to operate in what they have defined as a "grey area". This is not acceptable by a long stretch.

Pregnant women and the medical profession are being failed by politics and it is cowardly to allow this position to persist. It is now necessary that we as legislators make clear our intentions and that we say, once and for all, that we will legislate to provide safety and clarity to women and medics. This motion provides the opportunity to Deputies of all political parties and none to make this clear.

All of us know the issue of abortion can be divisive, as people feel strongly - even passionately - about the subject. That is to be expected. The opposing views - typically labelled "pro-choice" or "pro-life" - are often pitched in adversarial debate, and that is to be expected too. This motion does not come down on either side of that broader and ongoing debate on the extension of abortion rights: it simply asks that what is already lawful and constitutional be defined and guided by legislation. In the words of Dr. Rhona Mahony, master of the National Maternity Hospital at Holles Street, everybody needs to be protected. The women of Ireland must be protected and the doctors giving health care must know they are also protected in their ability to do the job.

I cannot speak for all of those who served in successive Governments over the past 20 years. I cannot be definitive about why they failed to legislate but I can make an educated guess. I can surmise that they feared what they considered a difficult choice and they hoped it would go away. They presumed their failure to legislate would be consequence-free for women. They were wrong on all three counts. Protecting the health and life of a pregnant woman is not a difficult choice but rather the only civilised choice. The need for this protection will not go away and the failure to legislate has consequences for women and their doctors.

Amendments to the motion tabled by both the Government and Fianna Fáil fall far short of any concrete commitment to legislate, and one must ask why that is so. It seems that 20 years on, there are still within the Dáil people who will not face up to our collective responsibility as legislators to act in the common good. It is 20 years on and the Government's primary first instinct is to run for cover, hide and fudge the issue yet again. Critics of the motion have bandied the words "political opportunism" around, and it seems they are happier to spout political abuse than making the political commitment that the women and medical profession in the country need. That commitment - to obey the findings of the Supreme Court - is 20 years old. The commitment is to legislate for the X case and definitively and finally to protect the lives of pregnant women when on rare occasions their lives are put in jeopardy. The commitment is finally to give legal clarity and assurance required by medical doctors in assisting these women. That is required.

The motion asks that the Government publish the report of the expert group and, with a sense of urgency, move to produce legislation. There has been 20 years of inaction and delay, and that must stop. Every Deputy in the Dáil who believes, as I do, that we must fulfil our role as legislators and protectors of the common interest and good must support this motion. Attempts by the Government or others once again to prevaricate and delay can no longer be tolerated and will no longer be accepted by the women or medical profession in this country.

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