Carol Nolan (Offaly, Independent) | Oireachtas source

As we all outlined and agreed, there are paternalistic cultures which may force women to have abortions on the basis of gender. We need to have safeguards against that. It is only reasonable to allow the amendment to be made to ensure we have that safeguard. It also ensures that children with disabilities are not discriminated against. We have made great progress on inclusion in this State when we consider the Special Olympics and all the positivity associated with that. It would be a shame to undo all that good progress by not agreeing to an amendment to ensure that no abortion is carried out based on disability or gender.

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