Noel Grealish (Galway West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support this amendment that all protection should be offered in the legislation to infants born alive as a result of carrying out or the attempt to carry out termination of pregnancy under this Act. It would be very cruel and wrong to allow an infant born alive simply to die when the medical professionals make every effort to save the lives of others. In addition to the medical ethics there is a moral duty to fight for every person born, regardless of the circumstances of their birth. This is a reasonable amendment. I will not go into the cases that we have heard. We have all heard and read about them and I do not want to see anything like that happening here in Ireland. We respect the decision of the Irish people and this legislation will pass here in the Dáil but we want to put a few safeguards in there that if a child is born alive and there is some hope that the child can be saved we would like to see it in this Bill that every effort will be made to save that infant.

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