Paul Murphy (Dublin South West, RISE) | Oireachtas source

Last week Archbishop Eamon Martin, the most senior Catholic archbishop in Ireland, backed protests outside maternity hospitals by anti-choice activists. He claimed it was "perfectly reasonable" to intercept pregnant people on their way into medical appointments. He said that to have safe zones would be "tantamount to enforcing a ban on pro-life activities, including prayer and respectful witness". Of course, it would do no such thing. Those who oppose abortion are still free to campaign against it. People are obviously still free to engage in prayer. What the legislation does is state that those who are going for medical appointments cannot be subject to intimidation by anti-choice activists. Did the Taoiseach discuss this and the need to stop these intimidatory, misogynistic protests in his discussions with church leaders? Will he expedite the long-awaited legislation on safe access zones in the new year?

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