Mattie McGrath (Tipperary South, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I begin by commending all Members of this House for voting to their own best judgment and for voting according to their conscience on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill last night. These are difficult and, indeed, emotional times for many Members of this House, and we all struggle to find a way forward toward realising a deep and passionate commitment to protect the lives of both mother and child when a crisis in pregnancy occurs. I do not believe that, despite the very heated exchanges we have had in the House, anyone here wants to see a situation where threats to the life of the mother or child will increase in our country.

That being said, there are a few fundamental issues I feel obliged to return to today. I refer in particular to the constant assertion of the Taoiseach that this Bill, part of which was voted on last night, is fully in line with the Constitution. In fact, only last week the Taoiseach stated that the Government is not able to unpick the Supreme Court decision and, therefore, to attempt to do so would render the Bill unconstitutional. This week, however, one of the Supreme Court judges who decided the X case has said the judgment is moot and is not binding on Government. He also said that the X case itself was moot because the 14 year old girl at the centre of it miscarried and did not have an abortion. The case was, he said “peculiar to its own particular facts”. Mr. Justice O’Flaherty could hardly have made the issue any clearer for us.

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