Derek Keating (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Ceann Comhairle for the opportunity to speak on this Bill and I thank the Minister of State for coming into the Chamber to discuss this contentious, emotive and important issue which has troubled and held the attention of many citizens, particularly over the past number of weeks and months. The Bill seeks to implement the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the A, B and C v. Ireland case by way of legislation with regulations, within the parameters of Article 40.3.3° of the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court in the X case, and also to make appropriate amendments to the criminal law in this area.

Like many Deputies, I have had an extraordinary amount of correspondence from all over the country and especially from my constituents in Dublin Mid-West. I respect each one of these correspondents and I have endeavoured to reply to many e-mails, postcards, letters and phone calls. I have taken the opportunity to meet people informally and I have discussed it at my party's meetings. Like others, I have had the experience of seeing outrageous posters erected outside my home and, like many other Deputies from all sides of this House, threatening telephone calls. A small number of those who made contact with me view the legislation in black and white terms but we know from experience that this is not how it is.

In December 2010, the European Court of Human Rights found that the lack of any clear mechanism in Ireland to allow a woman or her doctor to determine whether a pregnancy should be terminated when her life is at risk would be lawful in those circumstances but would be in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights. When the Taoiseach spoke about abortion in advance of the general election of 2011, he was referring to abortion on demand. Since then, this has been misused and misquoted by those who seek to mislead. Regrettably, they have influence over others. The reality is that the Government is not in favour of abortion. We have medical terminations taking place based on clinical grounds only, a point to which I will return shortly.

The Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill does not contradict the commitment made by the Taoiseach before the last election. I trust the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste on this matter when they commit themselves to the House in saying this is not abortion on demand, as has been proclaimed by others. There is clearly a difference between medical termination of pregnancy and abortion. I want to be clear. "Medical termination of pregnancy" refers to the ending of a pregnancy for medical reasons where the mother's life is at risk, whereas abortion, for me, represents abortion on demand.

We are all charged with legislating. We are all charged with protecting life. We are all charged with the responsibility to ensure that the lives of the mother, the child and the medical practitioner providing the service are protected, but we also have a responsibility to the future in terms of how this law will be interpreted both by the courts and by this House in ten or 20 years' time. It is here that I am challenged. I have a difficulty in ensuring there is enough regulation to prevent the occurrence of what has happened in states in America and throughout the United Kingdom, particularly in England. I am personally challenged by this issue.

Throughout the hearings of the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children, many presentations highlighted the reality that the legislation governing doctors' practice was flawed and needed to be addressed. It is clear to me that this was one of the single contributing factors that influenced decision making in the care of the late Savita Halappanavar. Savita's case has been discussed by more eminent experts and I do not plan to add to the discussion, nor am I skilled enough to comment. The reality is that a woman presented to a hospital in the State and her condition deteriorated to the point at which her baby was lost and her life was at risk.

As many others have stated in this House, I do not want this ever to recur. The finding in Savita's case by the HSE investigation states that there was a "failure to offer all management options to [a patient] who was experiencing inevitable miscarriage of an early second trimester pregnancy". Section 4 of the Bill allows the Minister to make regulations on these matters. I am satisfied that the Minister, Deputy Reilly, is committed and motivated to put in place the necessary standards to ensure this legislation will not be misused or abused by practitioners or others to introduce abortion on demand, but will make options available to clinicians to address emergencies in which the life of the mother is at risk.

I am satisfied that the intention of the Minister for Health and the Government is to save the life of a woman who is in danger of dying as a result of complications, where consultants clearly indicate that if no medical intervention takes place the mother will die. As an elected public representative charged with addressing this 30-year-old problem, in all conscience I see that the motivation for this Bill is to protect the life of the mother in extreme medical circumstances. I accept that this is the only situation in which the Bill addresses legislation required as a result of the referendum on the X case.

The parish priest from Carna, County Galway, Fr. Pádraig Standún, said: "The church hierarchy has the luxury of idealism but the Government has to deliver a system where doctors and specialists are given guidance that they need in dealing with the realities of life." I welcome this intervention from Fr. Pádraig and I acknowledge the many others in religious life who have been in contact with me and who share this opinion. It is not often voiced. I challenge those who have not studied the Catholic social teaching, including the Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church and specifically section 570 of the Magisterium, to do so. Some will be quite surprised if they do, just as I was.

This situation requires a balanced response and that is what the Government is providing. The type of panic that has been irresponsibly generated by some factions of Irish society who want to introduce a type of theocracy or fundamentalism is not only unacceptable but has often proven to be dangerous. As I understand it, since the referendum there have been between 20 and 30 cases, on average, of termination of pregnancy every year in Ireland due to medical circumstances. What does this tell us? There has been no panic, protests, candlelit processions or street marches as a result of these medical decisions. Indeed, there have been no speeches in the Dáil from Deputy Mattie McGrath, for example.

The question of suicide as a reason for the termination of a pregnancy raises many challenging and fundamental questions for me. Having served as a director on the board of Pieta House for six years, and as a founding and pioneering worker with that organisation, I know only too well the circumstances in which a person may be suicidal. On many occasions I have seen how complicated suicide is as an issue. It requires experienced and skilled practitioners to be able to assess risk and to provide recommended treatment. Arguably, there are many more than the 600 reported cases of suicide in Ireland each year and, alarmingly, as has been mentioned in previous contributions I and other Members have made, that number is increasing. I have not seen a response from those who in recent times have protested, marched, lit candles, erected posters and sent abusive and anonymous letters in response to this Bill.

Like many other Members, I am conscious of the difficulties that face an obstetrician when confronted with the reality that a presenting mother is suicidal and is planning to end her own life, which in turn will end the life of the baby she is carrying. To be honest, I do not have the answer, and in such circumstances I must trust the professionals involved, as I trusted the professionals who took care of my own family members over the years in different circumstances when they required attention for medical conditions. Suicidal ideation is a complicated psychological condition that must be taken seriously and at all times treated with respect. I am not an expert on this but professional intervention is required when a mother presents in such circumstances.

I listened carefully to the presentations made to the Joint Committee on Health and Children, chaired by my colleague, Deputy Jerry Buttimer. It can be a fact that if doctors differ, patients can die. I do not want any patient to die and I do not want any baby to die. For that reason I trust the medical profession, the psychiatric profession and our professional health workers when dealing with each individual case as it presents in these circumstances. I am satisfied that the Minister is putting in place the necessary standards and regulations to deal with these issues, and I believe the lives of the mother and the baby will be better protected as a result of this legislation. As I have said, I am not an expert, but I trust the people who are working in our hospitals and our psychiatric units. For this reason I feel obliged to support this legislation, which seeks to protect the mother and the child in circumstances in which the life of either one, or both, is threatened.

Last October I made it clear, both publicly and at a number of meetings in my constituency - long before this issue became contentious - that I am pro-life, pro-women and pro-child. However, I am not a psychiatrist, an obstetrician or a gynaecologist. I therefore place my trust in these people, who work every day to preserve life and to ensure that the highest standards are observed. I must accept the trust we give to the Minister, Deputy James Reilly, who I am pleased to see here today, the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste.

As a legislator, I would have no difficulty voting against the Government on a matter of conscience. I have no fear of the Whip system. I do not feel confined to do what I am told. I wish to put it on the record that I am opposed to abortion on demand. I am pro-life and I stand for the rights of the mother and of the child. I believe this Bill will protect the life of the mother and the life of the unborn baby, and only in exceptional circumstances, clearly set out by the Minister for Health, should a medical termination of pregnancy take place, when the life of the mother is at risk and there is no option other than to terminate. For those reasons I support the legislation.

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