Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are people without limbs, people who might not look the same as any of us, and someone might say they are not as good as us but I would say that they might be much better than us. At the same time, if abortion was freely and readily available in this country, they might not have had the right to come into this world because they might have been taken out of it before they had the opportunity to be born. I do not agree with that. I could never vote for or support that. Who am I to come along and say that if a person is not perfect, he or she does not have the right to come into this world? I think it is so wrong. I will quote a couple of recommendations from the minority report, the joint assessment by Deputies Peter Fitzpatrick and Mattie McGrath and Senator Rónán Mullen.

We reject, with particular emphasis, any attempt to provide for abortion on any particular ground of disability. We believe that the disability ground for abortion, so prevalent in the Western World, makes a mockery of nations’ aspirations to champion the rights of people with disability.

Although Ireland has some way to travel in the championing of the rights of persons with disabilities, it can be said that Article 40.3.3., in this way also, has been a shining light.

Think about what we are doing. In this Chamber, we have a Minister of State with responsibility for people with disabilities, Deputy Finian McGrath, a person who I am great friends with. I admire him very much. He is an excellent Minister of State. We have appointed a Minister of State with responsibility for people with disabilities while, at the same time, what we are proposing here could actively discriminate against and deny people with disabilities the right to even be born. It is an absolute contradiction. It does not make sense and it will never make sense. If I am saying anything wrong or offending anybody with what I am saying, I am sorry but it is what I believe in my heart and my soul. If I was not honest enough to stand up tonight and say what I have had to say, I should not be here at all. I should never have been elected if I had not come in here tonight to tell the truth. I am only saying what I am saying because I believe in it. If I see something wrong, I say it straight. I will not mince my words. The recommendation states: "We recommend the retention of the Eighth Amendment on the grounds that it protects both mother and unborn child, does not endanger top quality medical care for women and unborn children in pregnancy and is consistent with the best standards in the protection of human rights and human dignity." Go back to where we are coming from. We do not need to repeal the eighth amendment. The status quois acceptable and protects the mother and child.

We can study the values of Ireland over the years. We and the State have made mistakes, as I have already highlighted - I quoted the Kerry babies case - and we all loathe the horrible events that have taken place in institutions of the State, such as the Magdalen laundries, and we know the mistakes we have made in the past. At the same time, Ireland is a special place and the church in Ireland has done great things. We can be critical and say it has done things wrong, which have to be recognised, but at the same time we have to admit and acknowledge that our church did great things in the past. Ireland is special and I do not want to see us go down the road of England, America or other countries in Europe where human life can be so disregarded and people do not value human life or babies. I do not agree with that.

When I was a young councillor and I knew abortion would be an issue at council level and in the Oireachtas, where my father was, I wanted to understand what it was all about. I studied exactly what an abortion was. When I saw it, it horrified me. It made me sick, and I am tough. It takes a lot to rattle me and anybody who really knows me knows I am not in my comfort zone talking tonight. If I was talking about bridges or roads, I would be fighting, be on my game and be myself. I am not myself because I am outside of my comfort zone in talking about this because I am so nervous about it due to feeling inadequate. When I studied what an abortion was and the enormity of it hit me, I thought that if I ever had a say in it, I would always stand up for the life of the unborn child. It is what I believe in and the way I was brought up. I know, God be good to him, if my father and Deputy Danny Healy-Rae's father was here, exactly what he would say.

He would be standing up for the rights of the unborn child because he was like us. He was an ordinary person who believed in, and cherished, life. I have my own children who will have their own grandchildren and I have nieces and nephews. I could never imagine a situation where a person would not want to have them. They are the future and they will be there when we will not be here. I want to ensure that will continue in the years ahead.

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