Marcella Corcoran Kennedy (Offaly, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following:Dáil Éireann declines to give the Protection of Life During Pregnancy (Amendment) Bill 2017 a second reading in order that the Citizens’ Assembly, established by resolutions of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann, can conclude its deliberations on the eighth amendment to the Constitution of Ireland prior to further consideration of potential legislative change including to the existing penalties set out in the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, and report to the Oireachtas, or to an Oireachtas Committee, in the first half of 2017.

The Private Members Bill before us seeks to amend section 22(2) of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act. The title of section 22 of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act is, "Destruction of unborn human life". Section 22(1) specifies that it is an offence to intentionally destroy human life.  Subsection (2) clarifies that the penalty for a person who is guilty of the offence of destruction of human life is a fine or up to 14 years imprisonment or both. Subsection (3) states that prosecution for the offence may be brought only by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions. The effect of the amendment Bill introduced by the Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit and the Green Party is to delete subsection (2) and substitute it with the following subsection: "a person who is guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable to a fine of not more than €1.00". As a consequence the penalty for the offence of the intentional destruction of unborn human life would be reduced to €1.

Before I set out the reasons for not accepting the Bill and putting forward a reasoned amendment, I will remind the House of the current constitutional and statute law on abortion. The main purpose of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 is 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. Its purpose is to confer procedural rights on a woman who believes she has a life-threatening condition in order that she can have certainty as to whether she requires this treatment. The Act sets out exemptions to the offence, in cases where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the pregnant woman which may only be averted by termination of pregnancy.

The principal constitutional issue dealt with in the Act is the right to life of the unborn, with due regard to the right to life of the mother, as set out in Article 40.3.3^oof the Constitution. Article 40.3.3^oor the eighth amendment to the Constitution states: "The State acknowledges the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother, guarantees in its law to respect, and as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right". The effect of this Article is that a high level of protection is afforded by the Constitution to the right to life of the unborn and, subsequently, the power of the Oireachtas to legislate to allow for abortion is restricted. Subject to the exemption where the life of a pregnant woman is at risk, abortion is prohibited in Ireland. The Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act does not, and cannot, confer new rights to termination of pregnancy, but clarifies existing rights. A referendum would be required to broaden the scope of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act.

As I have previously said, section 22 of the Act provides for the offence of the intentional destruction of unborn human life. The section replaces sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861, which are repealed under section 5 of the Act. Under the 1861 Act, a woman could be prosecuted for an unlawful abortion, the penalty for which was "to be kept in penal servitude for life". Under the 2013 Act the penalty for the offence is up to 14 years in prison or an unlimited fine, or both. A prosecution may be brought only by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions. This is to ensure that frivolous or mischievous cases cannot be brought before the courts. While Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution prohibits abortion, with certain exemptions, this prohibition would be ineffective without the provision of a criminal prevention of the offence in question. Due to the gravity of the crime, the intentional destruction of unborn human life, and the constitutional protection for the unborn, a maximum of 14 years in prison is considered an appropriate penalty.

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