Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I will do my very best by talking quickly. The ink was not even dry on the Health Regulation (Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018 when we saw a letter from the chief medical officer, CMO, making clear that the three-day period the Government included in the legislation was not recommended by the committee and will, in fact, be four days. This is in direct contradiction to what the Minister for Health told me on the record when he said three days would mean three days. We now find out that women will have to wait until the third day has elapsed, which makes the waiting period four days, as Ms Ellen Coyne reported today in The Irish Times. I have been contacted by members of campaign groups who feel extremely let down. We did not want the three-day waiting period to be included in the Bill but agreed that it was necessary. It was a political construct, not a medical necessity. Now it emerges that the period will be four days, which will represent a significant barrier to access. Who is right on this, the Minister or the chief medical officer?

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