Leo Varadkar (Dublin West, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The question we have to address here is the meaning of the term "incompatible with life". Does it mean that the baby can be born alive, which seems to be what some of the speakers opposite have implied? As Deputy Tuffy pointed out, if it does cover babies that can be born alive it is unconstitutional and even if it does not the constitutional protection to the unborn also applies to the child in the womb. The Bill states "incompatible with life" but what does that mean? Is it life for a few hours, a few minutes, a few days or maybe for a few months? That is not a Jesuitical issue. It is something that must be defined in legislation and it is why it is important to get legislation right.

Deputy Collins suggested that it did not mean that at all but that it only meant cases - I am not aware of the diagnosis to which she is referring - where there is no chance whatsoever of the child surviving outside of the womb, even for a few seconds. Others in this debate have said something different, namely, a few minutes or maybe a few days. They were not clear.

Different again was Deputy Coppinger's contribution, which referred to women carrying dead babies. That is another thing entirely, and is totally incorrect. Somebody who is carrying what Deputy Coppinger describes as a dead baby is somebody who has had what we describe in medicine as a missed miscarriage. Every day in maternity hospitals throughout Ireland missed miscarriages-----

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