Alan Farrell (Dublin Fingal, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am grateful for the opportunity to discuss the Bill and cast my vote to commence the process of holding a constitutional referendum. Regardless of whether Members believe the eighth amendment should be repealed, I, too, ask all Deputies of all parties and none to allow citizens to have their say on this matter, which is extremely important to many of them. Recent censuses have consistently found that the majority of people in the State are women. On that basis and given that 30 years have passed since the eighth amendment was passed, it is appropriate that we acknowledge that women are perfectly capable of looking after their health and well-being. For this reason, the constitutional ban on abortion, the only such ban in the world, should be repealed and a proper debate should take place in the House on the realities facing many women in this country.

No citizen under the age of 53 years has had an opportunity to cast his or her ballot or have his or her voice heard on Article 40.3.3° and the eighth amendment or whether the Constitution is the most appropriate place to provide for the governance of our abortion laws. In my view, the governance of abortion law would be appropriately dealt with by the Oireachtas rather than in the Constitution.

However, it is not our job to decide what should be in Bunreacht na hÉireann and that is the duty of the people of Ireland. We, as representatives of the people, are merely custodians of the Constitution. As such, I am appealing to all my colleagues, whether pro-choice or pro-life, to recognise that all of us in this House are democrats We are all elected here and seek the votes of our electorates within our constituencies. We should acknowledge that people have the right to a say on this matter as it is not the preserve of Members of this House or the Seanad to determine whether the article should remain within our Constitution.

Having made my position on the eighth amendment very clear in this House on 18 January, I wish to acknowledge the statement of the former Attorney General, the late Peter Sutherland, who in 1983, prior to that referendum, indicated his belief that the eighth amendment was flawed and would not guarantee what the proponents of the amendment had in mind. Only a few short years later the eighth amendment was pierced by the Supreme Court. I cannot deny that the eighth amendment has led to uncertainty in a number of medical cases, which have been outlined in great detail by my colleagues in Sinn Féin. I see no reason to further add to their comments as they did a good job at eloquently outlining certain very public examples. I refer to the fact that there are probably hundreds if not thousands more cases with equal amounts of tragedy that perhaps did not get into the public domain over the past 30 years. However, if the people decide to repeal the eighth amendment, we in this House will be able to legislate and to ensure the medical needs of pregnant women are taken into consideration in all instances.

In this debate we must be cognisant of the fact that replacing Article 40.3.3° of the Constitution with provisions to allow for abortion in the cases of fatal foetal abnormality, rape, or incest would simply not be practical or workable either in legal or health terms. In effect, we would be placing women, particularly in the cases of rape or incest, on trial for the right to access proper medical health care. Many have outlined tragic circumstances, both in the print media and elsewhere, which are heart-wrenching, but the eighth amendment is completely inflexible. For that reason we should legislate and have a full debate in this House. We should agree the legislation, line by line, if the Irish people determine that Article 40.3.3° should be no more. It would be impossible to legislate for abortion in circumstances such as rape or incest in a way that provides women affected by such cases with the medical care and compassion they so richly deserve. This is one factor that shaped the work of both the Oireachtas committee on the eighth amendment, and, prior to that, the Citizens' Assembly. I reiterate my support and compliments to all the members of those bodies for that work.

There are many realities that must be tackled with regard to abortion. It is simply disillusionment to believe that women in Ireland are not accessing abortion, as they are, of course. As the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, stated in this House, since 1980 the number of women who have travelled from Ireland to other countries to access abortion is estimated to be at least 170,000. To act as if Irish women cannot or are not accessing abortion would be tantamount to burying our heads in the sand with respect to the experiences of those 170,000 women. To contextualise that number, it is enough to fill Croke Park twice, Semple Stadium three times and Páirc Uí Chaoimh almost four times. It is a significant number of people that the eighth amendment has simply ignored.

The availability of abortion pills is a reality we must address. It is a fact that abortion pills can be ordered online and delivered to this jurisdiction with relative ease. I know one constituent who did this; the pills were ordered on a Sunday evening and arrived three days later on Wednesday morning. Not acknowledging the importance of addressing such a matter would be a dereliction of responsibility in this House, regardless of the outcome of this debate on Second Stage of this Bill. There is nothing we can do at all about abortion pills if the eighth amendment is retained, other than perhaps withdrawing the constitutional amendment that facilitated women travelling, being provided with information or individually going through every package that arrives into the State. That is simply not practical. The availability of abortion pills cannot be dealt with while the eighth amendment remains in place. Women who access and purchase these pills do so in secret and take them behind closed doors without medical advice or health care. Surely, it must be the priority of this House and all its Members to ensure that women are protected and are accessing such medication with medical supervision, and in an appropriate environment. We should not be ignoring these facts based on what some might perceive as Christian morality. Furthermore, we must address the cases whereby women who have travelled to access abortion who have to then have the remains returned to them in a box or in the boot of a car. I can think of nothing more harrowing than experiencing that.

We can no longer pretend that women in Ireland cannot and are not accessing abortion. Instead, it is our job, as legislators and as representatives of the public, to deal with the realities facing our citizens. In an ideal world, abortion would not be necessary, and fatal foetal abnormalities, rape, and incest, in particular, would not happen and no woman would find herself in a position whereby she is required access to abortion for any reason. However, unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world. Whereas I understand the argument that some people put forward that the eighth amendment has saved lives, which to a certain extent I am sure is true, on the other side of the coin, the eighth amendment has caused uncertainty in many cases which, I am sure, may have cost lives. Sadly, with the eighth amendment in its current form, it appears there is no happy medium. We cannot legislate and we cannot regularise or prevent abortion, as it is happening every day. Many of the arguments for retaining the eighth amendment could easily be turned over in favour of its repeal.

Taking all these factors into account and examining all the circumstances and potential means of addressing the inadequacies of the current governance of abortion laws in our country, I cannot help but feel that the recommendations of the committee on the eighth amendment provide the best means by which to meet the medical needs of women in Ireland and to provide the best care for pregnant women in this country. I appeal to every person who wishes to engage with this debate and Bill to do so respectfully. Unfortunately, we have already seen elements on both sides reducing this debate to mud-slinging. In this House the debate has been very respectful throughout all the stages I have seen. The debate on the report of the committee was broadly respectful. To hope for this to continue with 4.6 million possible contributors to the discussion might be a tall order. I hope we will present facts rather than fiction or the ideal world scenario I spoke of.

Many people will have differing views, many on the basis of personal experiences and personal circumstances. By all means let us disagree but do not let us detract from the validity of every individual's experience or opinion. Fundamentally, this decision will be one made by the voting public. Let us allow both sides to put forward their arguments and inform the debate but let us do so in a respectful manner. In this campaign, it would be my view that once this debate takes hold on our televisions and on our radios, division and the proliferation of false information will likely dominate. Today we discussed the fallout from the Cambridge Analytica Facebook matter. We spoke earlier about the proliferation of false advertising and news, among other issues. I am absolutely certain this will dominate proceedings over the next number of weeks. I suggest to any person seeking further information to go to the referendum commission's website when it is established to get the facts. These will be without any particular colour. People should do this instead of relying on pop-up ads on computers or phones, or pamphlets and leaflets handed through the door. People should go to the referendum commission's website and verify the facts in hand. It is best piece of advice I could give anybody in this conversation.

Once the debate takes hold during the campaign, we must ensure we are able to filter the information provided to us. A great deal of moral superiority will adorn our newspapers. Yet again confusion will reign and the potential will be there for the debate to go off on a tangent rather than on the substance of what it is we are discussing. Let me contextualise what happens today and on a daily basis. Every year 3,500 women travel abroad and another 1,500 avail of illegal abortion pills. It is not that those who advocate to retain the eighth amendment are wrong. It is that our society deserves better than absolutism. Absolutism does not provide an option for proper health care in certain circumstances. It is those circumstances that I as a legislator have to consider.

If this House cannot legislate for a health care matter because a certain section of Irish society could not countenance availing of a termination, why must that section of society deny the rights of other women's bodily integrity to do what they please if it is appropriate? In the case of rape which results in pregnancy, do we as a society really believe that a woman violated by a man should be forced to carry a baby? Where is the compassion in that? There is then the fact that even if we inserted a constitutional amendment to allow for terminations in the case of rape or incest, the women involved would have to prove rape in under three months. Anyone who knows our legal system would acknowledge that simply is not possible.

I believe we are a compassionate society. We are the largest per capitadonors to charity on the planet. We want to help those who do not have. We want to treat citizens who are in need with compassion and I want this State to treat its own women in crisis pregnancies with compassion.

In closing, I thank my colleagues for listening to my contribution. I urge colleagues, whether or not they agree with my position with regard to Article 40.3.3° or the eighth amendment, to facilitate the passage of this Bill to allow the people of Ireland to cast their ballots on this matter and to utilise their rights as Irish citizens to decide whether the eighth amendment should be retained.

I urge all Irish citizens to check the electoral register. They can login to www.checktheregister.ie, go into their local authority area and ensure their name is on that register. If it is not, google an RFA2 form, download it, fill it out, get it signed and stamped in the local Garda station and bring it to the franchise section of the local authority to get registered because many people pick up a newspaper or listen to the radio and read or hear about the many tragic cases of circumstances where the women of this country have had to avail of abortions. They have been moved but they sit, await the referendum and then realise perhaps that it is a bit late. They do not get their polling card so they do not vote. I ask people to ensure that on this occasion, as so many did during the marriage equality referendum, that they actually come out and make sure that they vote and have their say on the Constitution. It is their Constitution. It is not the preserve, as I have said, of this House or indeed the Seanad. I believe we should all be given the opportunity to have our say on this matter after 30 years. I commend this Bill and I look forward to its speedy conclusion.

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