Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I understand that you do not turn a ship around overnight but, seriously, it took us decades to get to the point where we had a referendum to repeal the eighth. The review was commissioned, it was delayed in being published, and it is categorically clear in its recommendations. For example, the criminalisation of abortion in the law is the only aspect of medicine that is criminalised - the only aspect. That is something that could be dealt with. The three-day wait, which I have read out as forming a barrier to the most marginalised and the most vulnerable women and girls, could be dealt with overnight. The health committee is having two sessions before the recess with Marie O’Shea and other witnesses, and then they will come back to the Oireachtas. Why does the Government need a whole year to consider what is clearly a review that was published at the behest of the Government?

Marie O’Shea and the researchers are much better equipped than any single one of us to deal with these issues. Let us remember that how they constructed their research was by looking at the lived experience of people who tried to access the service and the lived experience of those who tried to deliver it, including doctors who operate under the chill effect of being criminalised with a sentence of up to 14 years. They are things that could be dealt with immediately. The Government is definitely kicking to touch on this. There are sensitivities in the Government, like the Taoiseach saying “I am uncomfortable with this”. It is not about his discomfort or anybody else's discomfort; it is about health and the delivery of proper healthcare in this country for women and girls who need it.

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