Mary Lou McDonald (Dublin Central, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

There are some people who believe that a woman should be forced to continue pregnancy in any set of circumstances, even when doing so will have a devastating impact on her health, or might even claim her life, or if there is no chance of the child surviving and all the heartbreaking trauma that comes with that unbearable situation. On the face of it, their message might sound somewhat sympathetic to somebody who might be a victim of rape but beyond the soft words there is no substantive response other than to say that she made her bed so lie on it, that the woman should continue come what may. It is an astonishing lack of compassion and demonstrates an astonishing lack of trust in our women. I am glad that the Government and people across these benches have chosen to turn away from that lack of compassion and choose instead another route and way. Will the Taoiseach specifically address the false assertion in respect of very late abortions, which is being advanced by some in the "No" campaign?

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