Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The eighth amendment of the Constitution should never have been part of it. I firmly believe that abortion should not be dealt with in the Constitution. It is an entirely inappropriate manner of legislating for the matter. As the Attorney General at the time predicted, it has created great uncertainty, and it has cost lives. As the former master of Holles Street, Dr. Peter Boylan, told the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, it has caused grave harm, including death.

I will be campaigning on the basis of removing the eighth amendment.

This debate comes after the deliberations of the Citizens' Assembly, and the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution, the report of which we are discussing today. Gabhaim mo bhuíochas leis an Tionól agus leis an gcoiste, go háirithe an Cathaoirleach, an Teachta Noone, agus comhaltaí Shinn Féin ar an gcoiste, an Teachta Louise O'Reilly, an Seanadóir Paul Gavan agus an Teachta Jonathan O'Brien.

On the debate as distinct from the issue, many Deputies have stated that they believe this need not be a bitter and divisive debate. I hope it will not be. I know people of integrity, decency and compassion who hold contrary views to me, and to see them denigrated for their views would grieve me just as much as if the position were the reverse. While there is undoubtedly considerable scope for criticising the impact and influence of the Catholic Church on social policy and on health care, people should not be insulted or denigrated on the basis of their religion or personal beliefs. I also hope that we will not witness any more of the cynical attempts to deploy appalling and traumatic imagery to traumatise women such as has been used in the past and, indeed, in the recent past.

It is true to say that we would not be in this space but for the perseverance and determination of repeal campaigners, some of whom have fought the eighth amendment for decades now. If I am frank, I do not believe that we would be doing this now if there had not been such a titanic effort from such people. We should recognise them.

On the issue specifically, I and Sinn Féin support this report. I wish to endorse the recommendations of the committee that the amendment should be repealed, that there should be access to abortion where there is serious risk to the mental health of the woman, to the health of the woman generally, and in cases of fatal foetal abnormality that are likely to result in death before or shortly after birth. I also believe - I should be clear that this is a personal view - that accessing abortion should be lawful with no restriction as to reason up to 12 weeks. I think that is right and appropriate and I hope that the people will vote to repeal.

Deputy after Deputy has spoken of their own thinking and how they have re-evaluated their thoughts on this issue over the course of time. It has become something of a cliché that it has been a journey, etc. Still, I know that I held a position in the past that was not the same as the position I hold today. From as a teenage holding a view that was probably broadly opposed, albeit vaguely, to abortion, to perhaps a position less rigid while at university, the biggest change in my views occurred while I was a member of staff here in October 2012, that is, following the tragic death of Ms Savita Halappanavar. It is fair to say that shocked the nation and it certainly shocked and shook me. Being in this building, I was in a position to attend several of the powerful events and vigils that took place outside the gates. It deeply affected me and it certainly was a landmark moment for me in terms of this debate. Since that time, I have read and thought about and examined this issue. I expect that I will continue to do so.

However, I expect that I will not read or learn anything which is likely to move me from what is now a firm and settled view, that the eighth amendment must go. For a start, it does not work. What is more, I have no doubt that the regime we have had for 30 years now has been incredibly unjust and uncompassionate. Since the amendment, hundreds of thousands of Irish women have had to make that dreadful journey to Britain to get the health care that they could not get at home - solitary, heartbreaking, devastating journeys. Bhí an Taoiseach ag tvuíteáil Dé Luain faoi fheachtas Gaeilge darb ainm #TrasnaNadTonnta. Ní mór dúinn smaoineamh freisin ar na mílte ar sheol an tír seo thar sáile - trasna na dtonnta - de bharr nach raibh cúram sláinte cóir agus oiriúnach ar fáil dóibh anseo. The eighth amendment plainly does not stop abortions in Ireland; it simply stops legal abortions.

However, I believe that for those of us who favour repeal, while recognising the reality of abortion in Ireland, and moving to provide for that reality is a factor in our deliberations, we should not limit ourselves to mere cautious and reluctant pragmatism. It is a factor and the reality that exists. Indeed, it is a reality that restrictive abortion regimes do not mean a lower abortion rate, far from it. However, we should also be able to consider the strong arguments made by medical professionals at length and in detail at the committee, and the effect the eighth amendment has had on the decision-making abilities of clinicians.

We must consider the extent of what we are asking, indeed, forcing, our women - our friends, sisters and loved ones - to do. It is they who should be at the heart of our considerations at all times. We should not and cannot coerce women into parenthood against their will. We have no right. Let us be clear - that is essentially what the eighth amendment attempts to do.

It is a deeply personal choice, one which is undoubtedly complex. The debate creates a great deal of nuance. However, I believe it is a decision that women and their doctors should be trusted to make. In my view, as well as recognising during this debate the reality that exists, we should state firmly and clearly that this is something we believe in - how else do we expect to convince the public? We should state clearly that to repeal is an act of respect and, indeed, an act of love for our women. To remove the eighth amendment from the Constitution is the moral thing to do, it is the ethical thing to do, and it is the right thing to do.

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