Alan Kelly (Tipperary, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I congratulate Deputies Mick Wallace and Clare Daly for having brought forward this legislation again and having kept the issue at the top of the political agenda. It is one of the biggest priorities we will face here as legislators and I say this on behalf of my party. I am conscious that we broach this topic a few short years after the initial Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill was introduced. I get a sense from all Deputies who have spoken in the debate that they agree that we need to move on quickly. It is remarkable that despite the issue of abortion being a regular feature in public debates and media coverage, it has taken this House more than three decades to deal comprehensively with the ramifications of the eighth amendment.

I recognise, like many other Deputies, the divisive nature of the debate surrounding this issue. It is, however, an absolutely necessary debate and it is our duty as democrats to address the obvious human rights concerns surrounding this issue, regardless of how sensitive they are and that they will bring tension. We should not and cannot shy away from this critical issue any longer. It would be immoral to do so. I found the debates surrounding the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill a few years ago to have been carried out in this House with a basic degree of dignity and respect for the views of others, which I welcome. I hope and believe the debate we have here and the one that will follow, through various media, will be conducted in the same way, namely, with dignity, regardless of the various personal feelings of Deputies and public representatives on this highly sensitive issue.

I am proud that we in the Labour Party can say we opposed the introduction of the eighth amendment into the Constitution in 1983. I cannot remember the referendum either because I was only eight. We were the first major party to call for repeal of the eighth amendment in recent years, in recognition of the profoundly negative effects it has on the lives of Irish women and the chilling effect it has on our legislative process. Furthermore, I am proud that the Labour Party in government was the first since the introduction of the eighth amendment to grasp this thorny issue and deal with it in law. The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, passed by the previous Government, in no way solved all the issues. That is why we are here again today. It did, however, go as far as constitutionally allowable in providing for medical terminations of pregnancies where the pregnancy endangers a mother's life, including through the risk of suicide, acute physical or terminal illness or an emergency situation. Under that law, such pregnancies can only be terminated by a medical professional in a controlled medical environment. This made legal and moral sense and was a crucial step in the right direction.

The Labour Party wishes instinctively to support the Bill introduced by Deputies Mick Wallace and Clare Daly. We believe that where a foetus has been diagnosed with a terminal medical illness, a woman, in consultation with medical professionals acting in her best interests, should have a choice to end the pregnancy so as not to prolong the grief and agony she undoubtedly must endure.

In this year's general election, Labour campaigned specifically on a pledge to hold a referendum on the eighth amendment during the course of the Government. Unfortunately, however, we did not receive a large enough mandate to enter government and I fear that, as a result of this exclusion, the current Administration is pushing the can down the road a little more. We regret this, but if we are to go through a citizens' assembly and I have no doubt that we are, I share and welcome the comments of those who have said that the assembly will be brought forward in order that this issue can be dealt with more quickly. That is absolutely necessary.

While we support the premise of the Bill and did previously, we must also be realistic. I was a member of the previous Government during which time we were advised by the Attorney General that the amendment proposed in the Bill was unconstitutional. This position has not changed and, as Deputies, one of our first duties is to uphold the Constitution. The eighth amendment created a legal position whereby all external attempts to end a pregnancy were deemed illegal and the right to life of the unborn was given equal weight to the life of the mother. The only reason we were able to introduce the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill in the first instance, in addition to great political will on behalf of my party, was a loophole created by the Supreme Court's judgment in the X case and the people's refusal to overrule that judgment in two subsequent referendums. There is, unfortunately, no such loophole to exploit which would allow us to legislate for terminations of pregnancies where a fatal foetal abnormality has been identified, however much we wish that were the case.

With this in mind, while we will definitely not vote against the Bill, unfortunately we cannot support it in this format. We express our absolute sympathy with all those who find themselves in such a situation and we reaffirm the Labour Party's aim to continue to fight to ensure these women's rights and their basic dignity are vindicated very soon. I hope the next time such a Bill comes before the Oireachtas, it will be debated in a different way and we will collectively support it. As progressive Deputies in this House, we should refocus our attention on forcing the Government to hold a referendum on the eighth amendment in order that the issues of fatal foetal abnormalities and pregnancies that have come about as a result of horrible circumstances such as rape and incest may be dealt with on the floor of this House. It is inexcusable in 21st century Ireland that we force a medical specialist to operate with a scalpel in one hand and a copy of the Constitution in the other.

In light of the recent decision by the United Kingdom to exit the European Union, there is a very real possibility that the journeys undertaken by so many Irish women seeking abortions for different reasons each year could become ever more precarious for those forced to undertake them. What effect will this have, and how will it be judged in the courts? We do not know the answers to these questions. We do not even fully know all the questions. To criminalise and exile these women is unacceptable, and we in the Labour Party restate our support for the repeal of the eighth amendment and, in the aftermath of its repeal, a common-sense legislative or constitutional programme, or both, allowing for abortion in certain circumstances, with defined limitations and in line with best medical practice.

As a nation we often look back with shame on issues such as the Magdalen laundries and the abuse of children in industrial schools. We must recognise that although we have come far, we are in no way the country we have the potential to be. I believe that as we do now in regard to past wrongs, so too will our children and grandchildren look back on this period of history with great shame and remorse and we must change this. I have no doubt they will not be able to understand why none of us could legislate on this basic civil rights issue and why the current Government took so long to deal with it. Please, let us deal with it soon. Let us deal with it in the coming months as part of what is being put forward by the Government, if that is the chosen option.

We should remember and reflect upon the circumstances of every woman in this country as we seek to address the consequences of the eighth amendment and as we fight for its repeal. That is the Labour Party’s view and we look forward to a day when we can return to the House to debate this topic without the spectre of constitutional limitations, when our only guiding principle should be what is in the best interests of women.

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