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

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the magnificent repeal referendum vote. Thankfully, the situation for pregnant people in this country has improved massively since people voted overwhelmingly to trust women and repeal the eighth amendment. Abortion is available on request up to 12 weeks of pregnancy and, beyond that, in very limited circumstances. The numbers travelling abroad or obtaining abortion pills illegally have dropped significantly. That said, we find that more than 200 people per year are still being forced to travel to access abortion services. According to the National Women's Council, many more are taking abortion pills illegally without proper medical supervision and accessing abortion in other countries. The question is why this is still happening. The answer lies in the restrictions contained in the Act itself, restrictions like the patronising, compulsory three-day wait for women to access abortion care. This, by the way, does not exist for any other medical procedure and certainly not for any procedure needed by men. There are restrictions like the criminalisation of doctors with a 14-year prison sentence if they interpret the law incorrectly and cannot 100% guarantee that the pregnancy would prove fatal within 28 days of birth, rather than 29 or 30, on the grounds of health risks and that they cannot prove are serious enough and restrictions like the effective ban on abortions post-12 weeks, where people are forced over the limit by all-too-common delays in accessing health services or facing risks to their mental or physical health.

We should not forget that successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments were dragged, kicking and screaming, into this debate on abortion and were forced to call the referendum following a litany of predictable tragedies and, importantly, sustained pressure from a mass movement from below. I move our amendment to the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018. This Bill would amend that Act to provide for abortion on request by lifting the 12-week limit. It would abolish the three-day waiting period and allow for abortion on the grounds of fatal foetal anomaly that is likely to lead to the death of a foetus within one year of birth and it would, importantly, decriminalise the provision of abortion.

We bring this Bill to the Dáil in order to update Ireland's abortion law. Despite the historic and categoric victory of repeal, we still have at least 200 people travelling every year. This is utterly unacceptable. Women and girls cannot wait any longer for proper access to modern abortion care, free from the risk of prosecution for the medical profession. Despite this Government's conservatism, the Minister must realise that the people of Ireland spoke in the repeal victory five years ago. A recent National Women's Council poll showed that 80% agree that no woman should have to travel abroad and 71% agree that abortion should not be criminalised. Why are they going? It is because women's health is being harmed by continuing their pregnancy if they stay in this country. Currently the numbers accessing abortion care under the health grounds are similar to those who are able to access the care on health grounds under the previous regime. Two out of every five who need care because of fatal foetal anomaly cannot access the care they need here because doctors cannot say for certain that a foetus will die within 28 days. Doctors work under the chill of the veil of criminalisation that could lead to a 14-year sentence. The three-day wait is utterly insulting and patronising. I have spoken previously about the rigid 12-week limit which impacts mostly on women who find that their health has deteriorated beyond 12 weeks, on teenagers who do not discover they are pregnant until then, on undocumented migrants, on disabled people, on people living in domestic and coercive abuse relationships and crucially, on many who live in far-flung regions of rural Ireland.

I want to talk about Ms Marie O'Shea's report which, albeit late, is very welcome. The report is informed entirely by the experiences of women and girls and of medical practitioners. Ms O'Shea has put women's experience front and centre. The review that was ordered by the Minister for Health is provided for in the legislation that we passed. It is contained in the legislation because it was said at the time by the then Minister for Health, Simon Harris, that we have to ensure that the law is working. Now we have politicians claiming that they are uncomfortable with the review but for too long women's health has been dictated to by politicians and clerics. The law does not reflect the spirit of repeal. We cannot claim that people voted Yes because of the heads of the Bill because this is just not the case. The only evidence we have are the exit polls which comprehensively prove that the vote for Yes was on the grounds of giving women a choice and not forcing them to travel.

By trying to put off any change until after the next election, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and pro-Government Independents, who rely disproportionately on the older, anti-choice vote are being absolutely disingenuous and are increasingly leaving women and girls in dangerous situations and forcing them to travel.

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