Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank Mr. Justice Sean Ryan for the work and commitment he and his team put in during their deliberations, given their terms of reference.

For me, as a new Member of the House, he produced a report that was exceptionally easy to read and understand, particularly given the difficult topic on which he had to deliberate.

We have been talking about this subject for years. It is an intimately personal issue. People say all politics is personal but this issue is particularly so. We do not think just about abortion or medical interventions. We are talking about raw emotions and uncanny feelings when discussing the lives of our loved ones, mothers, brothers and sisters. When we are confronted with emotional challenges they generate different feelings in us and in the past number of years this issue has grown to be a very raw subject for some people. I have struggled with it a great deal since Deputy Clare Daly introduced the first Bill on the subject.

I have thought a great deal about the eighth amendment, what it means to me as a human being, a Catholic and a mother and the exceptions to that amendment which we have discussed in recent months, that is, what they are, how we can deal with them and how to be compassionate and not considered cold feeling. I have done a great deal of soul searching in the past couple of months and what I keep coming back to is how much I cherish life - I refer not just to my own life but all life, the lives of the people I love and the lives of the people in our community - and how much respect each of us has for the gift of life. Many people will not feel the same as me but I believe life is a gift and something to be cherished and respected. It must be thoughtfully considered when discussing abortion.

Human beings inserted the eighth amendment into the Constitution in 1983 because they are full of kindness and understanding. That is the way we must approach the current issue presented to us. One would have to be the most unfeeling and uncaring person not to appreciate the pain and tragedy of the loss of Savita Halappanavar a number of weeks ago. Notwithstanding that, however, we must look at the medical treatment and interventions that happen each day for women in this country and stop saying the reason we must deal with this issue is that there is a question mark or some uncertainty in that regard. The uncertainty for many of us stems from the issue of including suicide in legislating for the X case. It is difficult for somebody who has a genuine fear that once the door is open it will not be capable of being closed. Deliberating on this in the Oireachtas committee in the next few weeks will provide us, hopefully, with some type of mechanism or architecture for allaying the genuine fears that exist, particularly for me and some of my Fine Gael colleagues.

At the end of this process I want to find myself in a situation where I can support legislation that will provide for the best medical practice and interventions. The journey I am on at present is to try to understand and appreciate how we can provide in legislation for something which, for me, is as abstract as the ruling which states that where it is a matter of probability there is a real and substantial risk to the life, as distinct from the health, of the mother it can be avoided only by the termination of pregnancy. I have real difficulty with that. I cannot genuinely understand how that could be a treatment for or resolve any issues for people who are suffering from mental health issues or severe depression. That will be my difficulty over the next few months. However, I am very open minded and willing to sit through the Oireachtas committee hearings on 8, 9 and 10 January and the deliberations and debates in the House thereafter. I look forward to it.

One thing that upsets me in this debate, however, is talk about the differences in when some people believe life genuinely starts. I heard a quote yesterday which sums up the issue for me. It is that we do not grow into human beings, we grow as human beings. I genuinely believe that life begins at conception and that is why this debate and the treatment of this issue must be so respectful. Life is there from the moment of conception and we must tread exceptionally carefully.

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