Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I commend Deputies Wallace and Clare Daly for bringing this issue forward and I am glad to have the opportunity to speak on it. For me, this is about two things; it is about choice and respect. It is about respecting the choice of a woman when faced with the devastating news of a foetal fatal abnormality. It is about respecting her choice to access a termination in that situation. I cannot imagine what it must be like to be faced with that situation and, on top of that, the woman is going through the grief, the whole thought process of how and why is this happening to her, and to her and her partner as a couple. Then we say to a woman that she needs to get on a boat or an aeroplane to get the service that she deserves to have available to her in this country.

We have spoken a great deal about mental health in this Chamber in recent weeks. What about the mental health of women faced with this situation? We need to ensure that women have access to this service in this country. It really comes down to that. It comes down to choice and respect.

For far too long in this State, women's rights regarding this issue have been ignored. On a daily basis, we ignore the women who choose to travel to England to access services that are denied to them here. We need to have a referendum on the repeal of the eighth amendment and, subsequently, to have it repealed.

I commend the bravery of the many women who have come forward to tell their stories, which has been extremely difficult for them. We should not put them in a situation where they had to go public and tell their stories in order to get the debate on this issue started in this House. We hear on all sides of the House that there is a lot of empathy for people but really what people want is action. They do not need to hear that we are sorry for their situation. They need to see action but for far too long, we in this State have ignored this.

We need to support this Bill and not pay lip-service to this issue. Action is what people need to see on this issue. We need to support this Bill but we also need a referendum on the eighth amendment and to see it repealed. I urge the Minister and the Government to do the right thing on this issue and to support this Bill.

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