Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

To return to the issue of abortion, yesterday's committee votes were historic, particularly those relating to the repeal of the eighth amendment and access to abortion on request up to 12 weeks. What happened yesterday represents a victory for all of those who have fought for decades for the right of women to choose and it takes us to the next step. The Government says it is still committed to a referendum in May. Will it agree to expedite the relevant legislation as quickly as possible? The legislation for repeal is extremely simple. Last year, we published and brought to Second Stage - on which it was defeated - a one-page Bill to delete the relevant Article from the Constitution, which is a simple matter. As opposed to going through this long process, we could debate the relevant legislation in January.

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