Catherine Byrne (Dublin South Central, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

It is important that Deputy Daly had the opportunity to introduce the Bill this evening. On reading the opening statement by the Minister, Deputy Varadkar, on this Private Members' Bill, I was struck by his wisdom and sincerity as a Minister and a medical doctor. In that statement, the Minister said:

Medicine and the human condition are coloured in grey and cannot be reduced to binary or black and white arguments. We need to approach this issue with compassion rather than cold certainty.

He went on to say:

Let us prove to those who have become disillusioned with the extremes of both sides, even with politics, but know in their hearts what is right and just, that we can ... have a calm and measured debate and an exchange of views about what is right and wrong for women, the unborn, families and society.

Like many Members of this House, I attended the hearings on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill. Like all who attended, I listened to the views and opinions of doctors, religious, political parties, agencies and members of the Judiciary. As a mother and woman who experienced pregnancy complications many times during my life, the hearings had a profound effect on me. The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill was signed into law in July 2014 and commenced on 1 January 2014. The main purpose of the Act was to restate the general prohibition on abortion in Ireland while regulating access to lawful termination of pregnancy in accordance with the X case and the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights in the A, B and C v.Ireland case. The Act provides for existing rights within the constitutional provisions and the Supreme Court judgment in the X case and does not confer any new substantive rights to termination of pregnancy. The Act achieves this objective by providing a clear prohibition on abortion, to which the sole exception is a case in which there is a real and substantive risk to the life of the mother which can only be averted by termination of pregnancy. In this way, the Act upholds the right to life of the unborn and the right of life of a pregnant woman whose life is threatened by her pregnancy, as required by Article 40.3.3°.

The Minister will prepare and lay before the House of the Oireachtas an annual report on the terminations of pregnancies that have taken place in accordance with the Act. A report on the review process will be compiled by the Health Service Executive and submitted to the Minister. The first annual report is due at the end of June 2015. It will give us all an opportunity to see how the legislation has worked. As the Minister stated, this is not a decision that should be rushed by holding a referendum. I believe he is correct that we need a carefully considered and broad debate so that consensus can be reached.

I recall that during the hearings before the introduction of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, Mrs. Justice Catherine McGuinness spoke of how politicians take telephone calls, read e-mails and listen to groups which provide information for various reasons. She said that instead of doing that, we should listen to the people on the street. I have been listening to the person on the street for the past several months. Like many Members, I have heard the stories from young women who have faced the tragic news of learning that their baby will not survive outside of the womb and is dead but are asked to carry the pregnancy to the end of its term. This is the issue we must address in whatever referendum has to come about. It is not my time or my place in this Chamber to make decisions on this. It is the people who need to make this decision in a referendum.

I thank Deputy Clare Daly for bringing this Bill to the floor of the House this evening. Unfortunately, I cannot support it at this stage but, please God, in the future we may be able to come up with some proper legislation which will allow for consideration for those who need to deal with their pregnancy at whatever level that may be.

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