Terence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I have three quick questions for the Minister. What would be the acceptable number of direct abortions under section 9? If one accepts the premise of the X case, on which the Bill is based, that a threat of suicide is no less a real and substantial threat to the mother's life, whether it arises in the first trimester or at eight months, and if the mother says she is suicidal because of the very existence of the baby, rather than simply because of the fact that the baby is inside her, the only way the cause of her suicidality can be removed is by killing the baby. As we know that both the X case and the Bill speak explicitly about ending the life of the unborn, I would like the Minister to comment further on that issue.

Dr. Sam Coulter Smith, the Master of the Rotunda Hospital, expressed serious concern about the idea that under section 9 an obstetrician might be required to induce delivery of a viable but extremely premature baby. He stated:

The fact that there is no gestational limit in respect of suicidality is a major ethical issue for obstetricians. Delivering a baby at 25 weeks gestation could lead to death due to extreme prematurity, or it could lead to a child with cerebral palsy or with other significant development issues for the future.

The Minister has acknowledged previously that the Bill will result in more babies suffering damage because of their premature delivery. Who will be liable for those babies who end up with a disability? Who will take care of them?

See this speech in context