John Halligan (Waterford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I commend the Taoiseach on bringing forward the protection of life during pregnancy Bill. It cannot have been an easy task for him, given all the divisions and tensions within the coalition. It has taken some determination on his part to finally start tackling this highly charged and emotive issue, one where four taoisigh before him have failed.

However, the draft Bill provides little reassurance for rape and incest pregnancies or for those women carrying a foetus with fatal foetal abnormalities, such pregnancies that have the potential to destroy the lives of those women who face them. Startling figures were released last week that showed sexual offences rose 50% between 2007 and 2011 but only one in six cases resulting in charges being brought. The media has rightly highlighted several cases recently where a man convicted of sexually assaulting a woman avoided a custodial sentence because he paid her a sum of money. This draft Bill proposed by the Government, however, carries the potential of 14 years imprisonment for a woman, pregnant as a result of rape, who might attempt to have an abortion in Ireland. Does the Taoiseach not think this is warped justice?

The Taoiseach might not be aware of this but 17 women who became pregnant after being raped had abortions last year. Incidents of rape are on the increase and it must be acknowledged only a small number of rapes are reported. However, instead of supporting women who become pregnant as a result of being violated, the Government proposes to penalise them.

The pro-life argument centres on the right to life of the foetus. A woman also has a right not to be raped. If her right is violated and she becomes pregnant as a result, I believe she has a right to end that pregnancy at her discretion. I defy any Member to look a pregnant rape victim in the eye or a woman carrying a baby that is certain to die and tell her that we are more entitled than she is to control her body. We cannot continue to brush these cases under the carpet and pretend they are not happening.

Will the Taoiseach give support to a constitutional referendum to allow for abortion in cases of rape or fatal foetal abnormalities? I am calling on the Taoiseach to let the people, not party politics, to decide this issue.

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