Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The reason this is considered yellow pack conscientious objection is because the Bill states that there is nothing in the Act that will be construed as obliging any medical practitioner to carry out or participate in an abortion. That only means that there is nothing in the Act. It does not mean that there will be nothing anywhere else that will influence a person to carry an abortion, so it is a very weak form of conscientious objection. Our amendment says there will be nothing in the Act and everywhere else within society that will force a person to participate in an abortion.

The other point that was mentioned was that the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act contains the guidelines. That Act is of a different order. That Act looked to legalise abortion in the case where there is a threat to the mother's life. This Bill is of a totally different order.

It is to allow for abortions to happen without indication. That is a completely different scenario and has to be understood in that context. Deputies were saying that a person may die in a case of conscientious objection. There is no example in the history of the State of any doctor stating he or she had a conscientious objection to something and a person dying as a result. There is no example of that ever happening.

In a liberal democracy, the right of one person is limited where it damages the right of another person. What the Government is seeking to do is force one person to proceed with the ending of the life of another person at some level. The issue of arrangement is said not to be a big issue. The Bill states that termination of pregnancy is the ending of the life of a human being. If I was to arrange for the ending of the life of another human being, I would be legally and morally culpable and complicit in that action. We can imagine, therefore, that doctors who consider abortion to be what the Bill states it is would feel culpable and complicit if they proceeded in that way.

That pharmacists have not been included is again a case of us saying somebody else can do it but we will not do it. Thousands of health professionals have stated that they do not want to proceed with this. The Minister is on a collision course with the people working in our health service.

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