Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I would like to speak directly to amendment No. 4. It provides that "No public moneys shall be provided by the Oireachtas to pay for the carrying out of a termination of pregnancy other than a termination of pregnancy in accordance with section 10or 11in a case where there is a risk to the life of a pregnant woman." Let us consider that for a moment. Section 10 is a definitions section and section 11 concerns the risk to the life or serious risk to the health of the mother. The amendment rules out serious risk to health. It provides that public funding cannot be used for a healthcare service except expressly under one section of the Bill, where the woman's life is at risk. The amendment does allow explicitly for public money to be used for termination of pregnancy. What it states it that public money cannot be used where there is a serious risk to health under section 10. It also provides that public money cannot be used under section 12, which covers a risk to the life of the mother or serious threat to the health of the mother in an emergency. It provides that public money can be used if there is a non-urgent risk to the life of the mother but cannot be used if there is an urgent risk to the life of the mother. That is what the amendment states when it provides that public money can only be used in accordance with sections 10 and 11. That is what we are being asked to vote for here.

The amendment also provides that public money cannot be used under section 13, which is in the case of a fatal foetal abnormality. Let us think about that for a second. The amendment does not lay down a principle that public money cannot be used. It says public money can be used but only in the case of a non-urgent risk to the life of the mother. In a case of urgent risk to the life of the mother, it cannot be used. In the case of fatal foetal abnormality it cannot be used, because that is provided for under section 13.

Let us think this through for a second. A pregnant woman and potentially her partner receive devastating news that they are dealing with a fatal foetal abnormality. This amendment proposes that in that case, they must pay for all the medical support themselves. We are talking about repeated trips to a GP, as well as about potentially very expensive medicines, all manner of rehab, hospital visits, visits to consultants and obstetricians, medical procedures in operating theatres and who knows how much aftercare support. We could be talking about tens of thousands of euro. The cost of supporting a woman or parents who are dealing with a fatal foetal abnormality could be tens of thousands of euro. This amendment provides that a woman and possibly her partner who receive this devastating news and who choose to stay in their own country, as opposed to going to the UK, which will provide and pay for the service, will be faced with a bill from the hospital that could be €10,000 or €15,000. What do hospitals do when people do not pay? They refer those debts on to debt collectors. The actual implication of voting for this amendment could be that people who want to be parents and are dealing with the catastrophic news of a fatal foetal abnormality could end up with debt collectors coming after them for bills of in excess of €10,000 or €15,000 if they choose to stay in their own country. That is what this amendment actually proposes to enshrine in the law in Ireland. It is offensive and technically defunct and it should be opposed.

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