Peter Fitzpatrick (Louth, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have never in my life had so much mental anguish and torment over a decision. The past six months, especially the past three months, have been particularly difficult while I have debated the decision I must make. I have taken the view that before making a decision, it is incumbent upon me to educate myself as best I can about all sides and opinions. I firmly believe that the more information one has on any topic, the greater the chances of making a correct decision. I have sat on the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Health and Children and listened intently to the numerous, sometimes brilliant, contributions. Only when I exhausted every avenue open to me and discussed the issue with all stakeholders in an open manner could I begin to formulate my decision. I am satisfied that I have left no stone unturned in my quest for knowledge. I am satisfied that I have exhausted every avenue open to me and more besides. I am now satisfied that I am in a position to make a decision.

I have tremendous respect for my Dáil colleagues and the decision they must make individually. A great deal of soul searching must be done on all sides of the House. Whatever decision my fellow Deputies make, I will respect it. Within my party there has been much debate and I respect each of my party colleagues. This decision is singularly difficult because it toys with the conscious and moral fabric of each individual. I salute each of my colleagues.

I am not in favour of abortion. I recognise the need to protect the lives of women during pregnancy, but I am keen that this must not lead to abortion on demand. The inclusion of suicide as a ground for abortion concerns me because of fears that it could lead to abortion on demand and abortion up to nine months.

I met the Minister for Health, Deputy James Reilly, to discuss these matters and the discussion eased some of my concerns. I am satisfied that the Bill will not lead to late-term abortion. The Bill recognises the equal right to life of the mother and the unborn child. If the unborn child is capable of surviving outside the womb, medical practitioners are obliged to do everything possible to save both lives, that is to say, the life of the mother and the life of the unborn baby. The Bill does not give the right to demand a termination if the unborn child is capable of surviving outside of the womb.

I am satisfied that the Bill will not lead to abortion on demand. In fact, it will give greater transparency on the number of terminations taking place. We do not know how many terminations have been carried out in Ireland since the X case judgment. We do not know the number of terminations that were performed in Ireland last year. We do not know whether one hospital is responsible for the majority of terminations or whether a small number of doctors carry out the majority of these procedures. We do not know whether the uncertainty over our termination laws is being abused. The Bill corrects this issue. There will be legal clarity such that terminations can only be carried out where the risk to the woman's life has been fully assessed and clarified by specialists. Medical professionals will be provided with clear guidelines detailing where and when a termination can take place to save a woman. For the first time, information on these rare terminations will become publicly available. It will become obvious to all of us if certain hospitals or certain medical professionals are responsible for a given number of terminations. If this Bill is abused, the Minister for Health will have the power to suspend abortion services and he has assured me that he will not be reluctant to use that power.

The Bill is not about introducing abortion on demand or liberalising abortion. The Supreme Court legalised the termination of pregnancy in cases where the mother's life is at risk some 21 years ago. Article 40.3.3° of the Constitution, inserted by the eighth constitutional amendment in 1983 states: "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."

The Supreme Court decided in 1992 in Attorney General v. X that the Constitution permitted the termination of a pregnancy where there was a real and substantial risk to the life of a woman which could only be removed by terminating the pregnancy. In the X case, the Supreme Court set out the correct interpretation of the law as it has stood since the eight amendment.

The difficulty is that no statutory framework has ever been established to vindicate the equal right to life of the mother and her unborn. Sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861, which in various ways provide for a broad offence of doing acts with the intention of procuring the miscarriage of a woman, whether the act be committed by the woman or not is qualified by the X case. There is no legislative or regulatory framework which currently exists to determine whether a woman is entitled to a termination of pregnancy according to the X case test. This situation is dangerous for women, who may be denied treatment to which they are entitled when a real and substantial risk to their life exists, and dangerous for the unborn, as there is no procedure whereby unscrupulous operators who wish to abuse the X case test can be checked.

As a result of this uncertainty, the European Court of Human Rights in A,B and C v. Ireland found that:

The [Irish] authorities failed to comply with their positive obligation to secure to the third applicant effective respect for her private life by reason of the absence of any implementing legislative or regulatory regime providing an accessible and effective procedure by which C could have established whether she qualified for a lawful abortion in Ireland in accordance with Article 40.3.3° of the Constitution.

At no stage did the European Court of Human Rights require that the law should be altered or amended. The decision simply called for a legislative or regulatory regime to be established to allow a woman to ascertain whether she qualified under the X case test, and to provide for a review mechanism where a woman is refused treatment. The Government decided that the most appropriate way to provide clarity was by legislation with regulations, strictly within the parameters of Article 40.3.3° of the Constitution as interpreted by the Supreme Court.

The main purpose of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 is to restate the general prohibition on abortion in Ireland. It does not confer any new substantive rights to a termination of pregnancy. While many of my concerns have been addressed, I remain concerned about some technical aspects of the Bill. We are all fully aware of the sensitive and complex nature of the matter with which we are about to deal. We are fully cognisant of the wide range of views that exist within this House and throughout the country. The Minister has assured us of transparency and that is very welcome. However, I strongly believe there should be an obligation to lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas annually. This extra safeguard would help ease concerns. It would provide an obligation on all future Ministers for Health to inform the House of the statistics relating to abortion.

It is reassuring to know that the medical practitioner that performs a termination will be recorded. This is an important safeguard that will help prevent this Bill from being abused. However, I would like this safeguard to go further. I strongly believe that the medical practitioner who certifies that a termination is necessary should also be recorded. In spite of my reservations, I compliment the Minister for Health on drafting a Bill on such a sensitive and delicate topic that manages to strike the right balance between protecting the lives of pregnant women and preventing late terminations and abortion on demand. I look forward to the Bill progressing to Committee Stage where I hope some of the outstanding concerns can be resolved.

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