Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I commend Sinn Féin on tabling the motion. While some accused it of opportunism, if the party had not tabled the motion, it probably would have been accused of cowardice. It is hard to win sometimes.

I will use my time to analyse the recent statement issued by the Standing Committee of the Irish Catholic Bishops' Conference. I take issue with the view that the current state of affairs as regards abortion law somehow protects women or that pregnant women receive all the treatment they need. According to the statement of the standing committee, "international statistics confirm that Ireland, without abortion, remains one of the safest countries in the world in which to be pregnant and to give birth." Statistics on maternal mortality rates are often produced by anti-abortion advocates as if they were evidence that Ireland's ban on abortion, one of the most restrictive and antiquated in the world, protects women. This is not the case. While Ireland, as a developed country, has a relatively low maternal mortality rate, to imply that this is because of our archaic and barbaric laws on abortion is completely false.

According to the report, Trends in Maternal Mortality: 1990 to 2010, published recently by the UN Population Fund, World Health Organisation, UN Children's Fund and World Bank, Ireland has a maternal mortality rate of six per 100,000 live births. Ranked above Ireland on the list is Greece, where abortion has been fully legal since 1983, which records three maternal deaths per 100,000 live births. Similarly, in Estonia, where abortion on demand is available until 12 weeks of pregnancy, the maternal mortality rate is two per 100,000 live births. In contrast, Pakistan and Uganda, countries with abortion bans similar to the ban in place in Ireland, have maternal mortality rates of 260 and 310 per 100,000 live births, respectively. Clearly, Ireland's relatively low maternal mortality rate is not a result of our extremely restrictive abortion ban and cannot be used as a legitimate argument against legislating for the X case and safe and legal abortions on wider grounds. On the contrary, women who have conditions which may become life threatening are advised by their doctors to have terminations in the United Kingdom, rather than take their chances with hospitals here. If this option were not available, it is probable that Ireland's maternal mortality rate would be higher.

Two decades on from a ruling by the highest court in the land, the Irish Government and international human rights bodies have not been able to find evidence of a single lawful abortion carried out in the State. This proves that failure to give legislative effect to the Supreme Court ruling means women living in Ireland are forced to travel abroad to access this medical procedure. In other words, women who can afford it are being exported with no consideration given to the potential impact on their psychological health.

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