Mick Wallace (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

For the past three Wednesdays, crowds have gathered outside the Dáil to express their anger. On Saturday, 17 November, they marched through the streets of Dublin in their thousands and they will do so again next Saturday in Galway. It is clear, as it has been for two decades, that the majority of people in this country want action on abortion. It is often difficult for individuals in Ireland to be openly pro-choice and, for too long, women who have had abortions and those who advocate for reproductive rights have been stigmatised, shamed and silenced.

The point has been rightly made over the past two weeks that the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar should not be seen in isolation but as the latest example of how problems within the maternity services and policies concerning reproductive rights in Ireland continue to fail women. The Bill is just the first step. It will not stop the misery that persists for many women who are faced with crisis pregnancies and are left with little alternative but to pack a bag and leave the country for a medical procedure that is not available on our island of saints and scholars. During the debate last night, the Minister for Justice and Equality, to his credit, was strong on the issue when he said:

"...whatever decision is taken by Government, we cannot provide in this State for the termination of a pregnancy resulting from rape in the absence of the victim being suicidal. Neither can we provide for the termination of a pregnancy where there is a foetal abnormality which will, as a certainty, result in the birth of a baby unable to survive."

I remind him that the Government is in a position to call a referendum to repeal the eighth amendment of the Constitution and if such a referendum were called, I believe it would pass with the support of a significant majority of the Irish people.

A crisis pregnancy can have an adverse effect on the ability of a woman to enjoy a range of human rights. An adolescent who becomes pregnant is often forced to drop out of school, thus depriving her of the right to an education. An unintended pregnancy can endanger a woman's health, undermine her opportunities to earn a living and trap her, and often her entire family, in a cycle of poverty and exclusion. A recent internal report by Mr. Anand Grover, the UN special rapporteur, on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health examined, among other issues, how laws and other legal restrictions are used to regulate abortion and the negative impact that such criminal laws and other legal restrictions may have on health care, the freedom and human dignity of affected persons, particularly women, and public health outcomes. He took a general look at how these laws may violate the right to health.

Abortion is a health issue and a human right and the report notes that women's right to health requires the removal of all barriers interfering with access to health services and mandates that women be provided with the right to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children. Sexual health is a state of physical, emotional, mental and social well-being related to sexuality and is not just confined to the absence of disease or illness. Criminal laws are enacted by countries to regulate conduct perceived as threatening, dangerous or harmful to an individual or society but where criminal law is used as a tool by a government to regulate the conduct and decision-making of individuals in the context of the right to sexual and reproductive health, the government substitutes its will for that of the individual. This amounts to an interference with human dignity.

Respect for dignity is fundamental to the realisation of all human rights. Dignity requires that individuals are free to make personal decisions without interference from the state. Women often experience infringements of their rights to sexual and reproductive health. Persistent stereotyping of women's roles within society and the family establish and fuel societal norms. Many of these norms are based on the belief that the freedom of a woman, especially with regard to her sexual identity, should be curtailed and regulated. The same thinking seeks to justify state control over women's lives such as forcing women to continue unwanted or unplanned pregnancies. Criminalisation generates and perpetuates stigma. Laws and other legal restrictions disempower women who may be deterred from taking steps to the protect their health to avoid liability and out of fear of stigmatisation. These laws can also have a discriminatory effect, as they disproportionately affect women, particular those aged under 18 or from less well off backgrounds or whose immigration status may be uncertain. Governments sometimes try to justify these laws on the grounds of public morality. Public morality cannot serve as a justification for enactment or enforcement of laws that may result in human rights violations such as the deprivation of dignity and autonomy.

Ireland's ban on abortion is a clear expression of State interference with a woman's sexual and reproductive health because it restricts her control over her body, possibly subjecting her to unnecessary health risks, as well as having a severe impact on her mental health. In some cases, women have committed suicide because of the accumulated pressures and stigma related to unwanted pregnancy and having to face the option of carrying the pregnancy to term or having to seek an illegal abortion. As legislators, we have a responsibility to ensure all our people have a right to all forms of health and human dignity. This Bill can be a start to that process. It should be viewed as an interim measure to prevent any further unnecessary loss of life for pregnant women and until we can address all the issues relating to a woman's right to health and dignity, a woman's right to control her own body and a woman's right to choose.

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