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

This is a welcome, overdue and vitally important Bill. Above all else and regardless of how people will vote, it is right and proper that they have their say. No person affected by the eighth amendment and no pregnant woman or woman of childbearing age has had a vote on the article in the Constitution that has caused so much pain and suffering. It was heart-rending to listen on "Morning Ireland" to the testimony of a mother who was given a diagnosis of fatal foetal abnormality as she recounted her awful journey home and the additional heartache and suffering she endured because the care she needed could not be provided at home.

I welcome that members of the public will finally have their say on this crucial issue. I commend the efforts of campaigners who placed this issue on the agenda again. It is extraordinary that some of them have been fighting for the repeal of the eighth amendment for decades. The issue should not have been long-fingered in such a way. I also commend Members of the Oireachtas and other institutions who have brought us to the crucial point at which a referendum will be held. I hope the campaign will be successful and conducted in a respectful and mindful manner. I hope it will not be bitter or divisive. Members of the Oireachtas have a specific responsibility to show leadership in that regard. While debate in the Houses has been largely respectful, there have been exceptions and I hope Members will be respectful when they knock on doors during the referendum campaign. People are perfectly entitled to their views on this matter. Some people close to me will vote differently from me and I know many who have not yet made up their minds. People deserve to have their opinions respected but that responsibility applies to both sides of the argument.

I echo the concerns raised by Deputy Louise O'Reilly regarding potential interference by companies that may be manipulating or abusing data and I hope the Government will carefully monitor this issue. It underlines the need for the establishment of a permanent referendum commission.

I am proud that I will vote for repeal of the eighth amendment. I stand by my statement in a previous debate that a vote for repeal is the moral, ethical and right thing to do. I emphasise that the case for repeal cannot be simply restricted to a recognition of a hard reality, although this too must be part of the discussion. Not only must we recognise that women are having abortions both here, through the abortion pill, and abroad, but we must also point out that it is right and proper to repeal the eighth amendment. Those of us who argue for repeal should make clear we believe we are on the side of right because forcing women to go through pregnancy against their will is manifestly wrong. Repeal is right because the eighth amendment puts survivors and victims of rape through the most inordinate torture, psychologically and physically, and forces them to travel abroad. It is right because the amendment forces children to go to term unless they go abroad, puts the lives of women at risk and has resulted in deaths. Repeal is, therefore, right and moral.

The proposed gestational limit of 12 weeks is the only truly compassionate way of legislating for instances of rape, fatal foetal abnormality and incest. While other ways may be available in theory, none of them is compassionate. The proposal for a 12 week gestational limit is the only compassionate way to deal with this issue. This is a personal opinion and, like Deputy O'Reilly, I will support the motion to be discussed at the Sinn Féin Ard-Fheis and enthusiastically advocate adopting it as policy. I hope the campaign proper will begin when the legislation is passed. Tá súil agam gur rud stairiúil a bheidh ann, go gcuirfimid deireadh leis an gcuid seo d'ár stair agus go ndéanfar an ochtú leasú a aisghairm. I hope that, at the end of the campaign, we will be able to reflect finally on the end of what has been a dreadful episode in Irish history, namely, the inclusion in the Constitution of the eighth amendment.

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