Anne Ferris (Wicklow, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am a long-time campaigner for the rights of women. I firmly believe women have the intelligence, commonsense and responsibility to make their own decisions, together with their doctors, about their own pregnancies. The State should not be interfering with the personal bodily integrity of Irish women. Women do not need a nanny state to tell them what to do.

In the rare case where a woman wishes to terminate a pregnancy, it is generally for the most devastating of reasons. No woman takes such a choice lightly. Whether because of a rape, as with the young girl in the X case, or because of the effects of chemotherapy treatment, as with the pregnant cancer patient in the C case, or because the circumstances of the young suicidal immigrant Ms Y or the family in the midlands who suffered the indignity of watching their beloved deceased pregnant daughter maintained needlessly and artificially on a life support machine, reasons for terminating pregnancies are always tragic. These decisions are never easy but they are decisions that women and their families can make together. Therefore, I see no need for maintaining the eighth amendment to the Constitution. If the proposal to remove the amendment were to be put to the people in a referendum on 22 May instead of the presidential age proposal, I would be campaigning for it now as a fundamental human right alongside marriage equality.

Ireland is a more open and inclusive society than it was when this issue was last voted on. I trust the citizens of this country to be understanding of women and families in circumstances similar to those of X, Y, A, B and C and to want a constitution that is equally understanding. However, as Deputy Coppinger knows, the option to repeal the eighth amendment to the Constitution is not being put to the people on 22 May. The referendum legislation has been passed, the ballot papers have been printed and the posters are up. Regardless of how this House votes on this issue on Tuesday, there will simply be no opportunity to add it to the ballot paper on 22 May. As much as I support Deputy Coppinger's intentions, even I can see that there is simply no time for another referendum during the remaining term of this Government.

This Bill is before us today because it was drawn out of a lottery. That it was drawn out too late is not the fault of Deputy Coppinger. I will not criticise her decision not to withdraw the Bill. I, for one, do not believe the timing of this debate will have a negative impact on the marriage equality referendum outcome. It is important to highlight inequalities everywhere and as frequently as possible, and for that reason I welcome this debate today. I agree with Deputy Coppinger that the eighth amendment should be repealed. On principle, I will not be voting against this proposal on Tuesday. While I will not vote against it, I have yet to make up my mind on whether to vote for a referendum that simply cannot happen in the remaining time of this Government. Even if the vote carried, this proposal could not legally survive into the next Government's term. I am not a person to vote carelessly. I respect the right to vote in this Chamber and all that it signifies. I also understand the freedom I enjoy as a Government politician outside the Whip system. If I were to vote in favour of this Bill, it would be a personal vote and also one on behalf of all my colleagues in the Labour Party who are deeply committed to reforming Irish abortion law. They cannot all support this motion without defying the Whip and throwing the country into election chaos at a time when our economy needs stability and the continuing growth. I understand that dilemma so, if I do decide to make a symbolic vote in favour of this Bill, it will be a personal one but also a vote cast on behalf of others in my party who are as committed as me to equality for women.

Labour Party members, including me, have worked for many months on drafting the legislation that could follow a successful repeal of the eighth amendment. That process has had input from leading legal and medical minds. There is in place a careful plan of action to repeal the amendment.

Deputy Coppinger should be aware that the best way of ensuring a repeal of Ireland's archaic abortion law is for her to vote in the next general election for a continuing Labour Government. No other party in Ireland has the liberal grassroots support necessary to drive this reform. Without a Labour presence in the next Government, it simply will not happen.

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