Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity) | Oireachtas source

I will not spend too long on this matter because it was dealt with comprehensively on Committee Stage. The proposers of this amendment have failed to mention that many girls - children under the age of 16 - are not supported by their parents. In many cases, it was being raped by their fathers that caused them to become pregnant. Essentially, this amendment would open the way for the rapist to have a veto over the right of a girl to have an abortion. We went through this in detail on Committee Stage. Unfortunately, these situations are not unusual. They are very common. Actually, they are more common than they should be. Such cases are frequently in the news. Not every parent is supportive. That is the point.

I want to make a general point about this debate. The main objective of these amendments, which are being proposed by Deputies who are anti-choice or anti-abortion, is to stop people from having abortions and, if they decide to go ahead and have an abortion, to make it as difficult for them as they possibly can. They are using words like "consent", "support" and "information", but I have to report to the Dáil that as this evening's debate was starting, the START group of doctors was holding a training and education event in Limerick and had to change to a secret venue due to harassment by anti-choicers who were ringing the local hospital to make threats about what would happen if the training and education event went ahead. Doctors are entitled to discuss how they will provide this service. Those who want to provide it are allowed to meet in groups to discuss the matter.

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