Niall Collins (Limerick, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome this opportunity to speak on the Government's Bill. I have said from the start that Fianna Fáil will not treat this issue as a political football as it is very complex, sensitive and personal. All sections of this Bill were thoroughly debated at the Oireachtas committee hearings and there was substantial input from legal, medical and psychiatric experts. Abortion has provoked debate throughout the country since the referendum in 1983 when the eighth amendment, inserting Article 40.3.3°, was made.

I am using the word "abortion" as it was explained by the experts that every pregnancy is terminated and that the vast majority of pregnancies terminate after a normal delivery in maternity units. In the 30 years since 1983, there have been many changes, and at least we are now allowed to have a rational and respectful debate in the Oireachtas.

This Bill was discussed at two lengthy hearings of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, in January and April this year.

It is only right that respect was shown to all Deputies and Senators and that the varying views and, most importantly, the legal, medical and psychiatric experts who are at the coalface were listened to at length.

Various forms of contraception are widely available and regulations were introduced years ago to allow for the availability of the morning after pill without prescription to prevent unwanted pregnancies. Sex education is provided in schools, as well as in the home, and Ireland has become a more open society. It is no longer dominated by the teachings of the Catholic Church and has become more pluralistic. There is no doubt that there was a considerable shift in public opinion following the unfortunate death of Savita Halappanavar. Rightly or wrongly, the media attention her death received both at home and abroad was a turning point in people's attitudes. People believe there should be legislation to allow doctors to intervene to save the life of a mother when it is in danger, while making every attempt to save the life of the unborn. All churches have the right to their opinion, but even though 84% of Irish people in the latest census declared themselves to be Catholic, it appears they are no longer dominated by the teachings of the Catholic Church because in the most recent MRBI poll more than 75% of people agreed that the Bill was acceptable. The churches have an obligation to inform their members about the Bill, but it is also important that this information be based on fact and truthfulness.

There are concerns about the issue of suicide and section 9 deals with the issue comprehensively, more so than the current law. The Bill requires a review panel to be set up to offer every woman the assistance she requires, something which is not in place currently.

Some Members have found it extremely difficult on a personal level to even consider voting for termination in any circumstance and there are those who believe the legislation is a reasonable response to a sensitive issue. I have examined the heads of the Bill closely, but I also informed myself on the choices for legislators. I base my comments on legal and medical facts, which is why I support the Bill, as I firmly believe it is the right thing to do as a legislator but also as a husband and a father. I genuinely do not believe there is an alternative to this legislation which the Government has published as a result of the ECHR judgment in the A, B and C v. Ireland case. The judgment acknowledged that only the Irish people could decide on Ireland's position on the termination of pregnancy but stated there was an obligation on the Government to provide a legislative pathway. In other words, legislation is required to provide for what is contained in the Constitution. Article 40.3.3° of Bunreacht na hÉireann provides: "The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its laws to respect and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right". There has been constitutional protection for the unborn for the past 30 years and there still will be after the Bill is passed. We need to be clear with the people and reiterate this fact as much as possible.

This legislation will provide doctors with legal protection when they are acting to save lives in emergencies and will ensure terminations are rare and only necessary when the life of the mother is in danger. At the joint committee hearings Dr. Gerard Burke described it as "reflecting common sense and reflecting the manner in which obstetricians currently practise and the Bill will make little, if any, change to the way patients are treated." This is important as groups with their own agendas are misconstruing the legislation and making exaggerated claims of floodgates being opened and our maternity hospitals suddenly turning into "abortion clinics". Nothing could be further from the truth. The Bill is more restrictive than the current law. There is no constitutional protection in the United Kingdom or America and, therefore, the floodgates will not open as a result of the legislation. Abortion will only take place in exceptional circumstances. The Bill provides that it will be an offence to intentionally destroy human life and a person who is found guilty of this offence will be imprisoned for up to 14 years.

The floodgates have not opened since 1992 when Article 40.3.3° was interpreted by the Supreme Court in X v. Ireland. The court concluded that a termination of pregnancy was permissible only when it was established as a matter of probability that there was a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother if such a termination was not effected. Basically, since 1992 abortion has been legal and, in an article in November 2000, Professor William Binchy accepted this by saying, "As a result of the holding in X, abortion is lawful." At the time he and others were calling for a referendum to allow medical intervention for mothers during an emergency but ensuring abortion would be illegal in Ireland. An all-party Oireachtas committee, chaired by the late Brian Lenihan, completed a report in response to the X case. It included evidence from experts in the legal and medical professions and a referendum was held in 2002. The report included a Bill - the Protection of Human Life in Pregnancy Bill 2002 - which provided for medical intervention when the life of the mother was in danger, as well as repealing sections 58 and 59 of the 1861 Act. The referendum fell by less than 10,000 votes. Two referendums seeking to reverse the decision of the Supreme Court in the X case were held and both attempts failed. It is the law since 1992 and it still is the law that women have the right to seek a termination on grounds of self-destruction.

Under this legislation, there will be a review panel comprising an obstetrician and two psychiatrists who will assess the woman and offer assistance and treatment. The woman may appeal any decision and this has to be held within seven days. The legislation will repeal sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Persons Act 1861 and provide a legal framework for doctors who work in maternity hospitals every day to save the lives of both babies and mothers. As the evidence from the masters of the maternity hospitals and obstetricians from hospitals outside Dublin showed, every effort is made at all stages of pregnancy to save the lives of both, even when there is a medical emergency that endangers the life of the mother and, with medical advances, the number of weeks after which the unborn is viable is decreasing every decade. In the 1990s survival was only possible after 26 weeks gestation, but, thankfully, this is now much lower at 23 weeks gestation. The Medical Council, the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland have welcomed the Bill. They believe it will strengthen the council's guidelines which have covered this issue for many years without legislative backup. A number of doctors who gave evidence to the committee believe the Bill is too restrictive and needs to do more than clarify existing law. I do not agree with expanding the Bill to allow a more liberal approach to abortion. Let us not forget that the people will ultimately decide if there is to be any change to Article 40.3.3°.

There should be strict monitoring of the number of interventions that result in abortions in order that any spike can be investigated. It is welcome that the Bill requires such interventions to be notifiable to the Minister for Health. This will prevent the floodgates from opening, as perceived, and will also be in keeping with the intentions of the legislation. The Bill is a reasonable, conservative and restrictive legislative response to the findings of the ECHR judgment, which is why I support it.

It is refreshing and welcome that we have had such a respectful debate on this issue. Everybody has been lobbied, but more and more we need respectful debate in the House. We need political leadership which we did not see, for example, this week from the Taoiseach on the Anglo Irish Bank tapes. He acted with a presidential decree like George W. Bush and showed no respect for the House. A great deal of respect has been shown in other debates, but we did not witness respect this week for the House, politicians and the profession of politics. Unfortunately, instead of uniting the body politic against the cabal of bankers in the former Anglo Irish Bank who blatantly lied to the regulator and civil servants and going after them, we were engaged in a political blame game which besmirched politics.

It was disgusting to see the Taoiseach engage in that. I was particularly disgusted by his reference to an "axis of collusion", which serves only to let the clique at Anglo Irish Bank off the hook. It is not good enough. It was a sick smear and the Taoiseach should not have done it. Paul Williams confirmed on "Morning Ireland"-----

See this speech in context