Brian Walsh (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I will be brief to avoid repeating what I said on Second Stage. I wish to speak on my amendment, No. 59, which relates to gestational time limits. My amendment is in respect of a time limit under section 9, not where there is a medical emergency or a physical threat to the life of the mother but rather where a mother presents with suicidal ideation. The absence of gestational time limits raises the prospect of gravely troubling scenarios, with the possibility of devastating outcomes for both the mother and the child. One such scenario, which was raised by Deputy Peadar Tóibín on several occasions, is that of a termination of pregnancy - I emphasise that I am referring to terminations under section 9 only - at 24 or 25 weeks when the child is on the very cusp of viability. As Deputy Twomey correctly pointed out and as the Minister has said on several occasions, every pregnancy ends in a termination. In the vast majority of cases, that termination results in the birth of a healthy child. At 24 or 25 weeks the child may very well survive the termination, but if prematurely induced it is exposed to a variety of incurable conditions, possibly consigning it to a lifetime of disability and perhaps of living in an institution if the parents do not want the child.

Although many have argued against it, I welcome the fact that a gynaecologist will be on the three-member team that will decide whether to grant a termination under section 9. The presence of a gynaecologist may very well influence an extension of the pregnancy. However, the absence of a time limit is unacceptable in my view.

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