Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will speak to amendments Nos. 10 and 81, which are extremely important. When we speak about fatal foetal abnormalities, I would rather describe the issue in more human terms by seeing it as being about ill babies. In my opinion, these are babies and viable lives. We have had many instances in the past where prospective parents have been told a child has a fatal foetal abnormality and been advised to avail of a termination of a pregnancy but for one reason or another, it did not happen and the babies in question were born. We have all heard different stories of parents who had many happy years with a child they were told was terminally ill. In other words, they got bad advice.

People are being asked to play God in this instance but there is one person who is entitled to play God, namely God. Mistakes can be made by medical people and if a child is born ill, what would we do except treat him or her for the illness and help him or her in every way possible? It may seem blasé to speak about fatal foetal abnormalities and I prefer to describe the issue in a more humane way. These are ill babies, whether the illness is terminal or not. People have told stories of children born who may live for a number of years, and when they were with their parents, they brought immense joy, even if they were not in perfect health. Even if their lives were short, they brought happiness to the homes to which they were born. We must hear both sides of the debate, and I take grave exception to amendments Nos. 10 and 81.

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