Peadar Tóibín (Meath West, Aontú) | Oireachtas source

The number of abortions has jumped a devastating 25% just in the last year. Some 8,500 unborn children were aborted last year and this figure is nearly triple the rate it was in 2017. That proves the predictions made by human rights campaigners in 2018, that the legislation, if implemented, would see a massive increase in lost lives. In the four years since the law was put in place, 31,000 babies have been aborted. This is equivalent to the population of Kilkenny city and for most people this is truly heartbreaking. Some 98% of those abortions were carried out on healthy mothers and healthy children, according to information from the Department of Health.

The vast majority of people, no matter what way they voted in the referendum five years ago, will see this loss of human life as a real human tragedy.

This month saw the publication of the abortion review, which shocked most people in society. It was devoid of humanity, and it was devoid of compassion. In many ways, the review reads like a checklist for abortion campaigners and obviously has been welcomed wholeheartedly in this Chamber by pro-abortion political parties. The report has shocked a number of people in government as well. There is no real mention of unborn children within the review and there seems to be no consideration of the child whatsoever. It does not seem to ask why so many mothers are having abortions. The committee on the eighth amendment heard testimony from witnesses which stated that 85% of abortions happen because of socioeconomic reasons; and that mothers feel that they have no choice but to proceed with an abortion because of the economic pressures on them. Every year we see dozens of mothers who are homeless and pregnant in this State, but there is no analysis of any of that in the recommendations of the report, and no suggestion that any supports should be put in place for mothers to give them the economic confidence to be able to raise their child to their full potential. Throughout this whole process, if we do not grapple with this issue, heartbreakingly we are going to see thousands of austerity abortions continue in the years ahead. We see queues of mothers and their babies outside the homeless shelters and food kitchens throughout the country. It is a pity the review did not seek to interview those mothers about their particular circumstances.

Incredibly, neither did the review have anything to say about the 133 women who have sued the State as a result of adverse incidents that happened in their lives. I have spoken to the Minister about this before. In the National Maternity Hospital there was a false diagnosis in the case of baby Christopher. He was falsely diagnosed as having a fatal foetal abnormality or life-limiting condition, although he was a healthy baby. The hospital then proceeded to end that child's life in a late-term abortion. The law was broken in that situation because only one obstetrician examined Christopher's mother, but the review seeks to make this the norm in all cases. In many ways the review seeks to reduce the level and quality of care mothers receive.

The Bill we are discussing today seeks to delete the three-day consideration time. This decision is one of extraordinary magnitude. It is an irreversible decision. The baby cannot be brought back after an abortion happens. Given the enormity of that decision, we should allow some time for a person to think it through. The human condition is that we all make mistakes. There is nobody in this Chamber or anybody listening to this debate who has not made a significant mistake in their lives. We tend to make significant mistakes when we are in situations of crisis or pressure and a three-day wait time to allow for consideration is important.

I heard the proponents of the Bill say that abortion is healthcare, yet 90% of doctors refuse to carry out abortions, as do half of hospitals. I ask them to tell me of any other healthcare procedure where 90% of doctors refuse to deliver it and half of the hospitals also refuse to deliver it. The vast majority of doctors want to save lives, not end lives. I believe this Bill puts pressure on doctors and nurses in that regard.

The other issue is the deletion of all criminal sanctions. In many ways, this will leave no real sanction to prevent an abortion, thereby allowing for abortion up until birth. That is an issue that will shock many people.

A few short years ago the Government persuaded many people to vote for the abortion referendum by promising safeguards within the system. Now it seems that the Government is looking to get rid of those safeguards and to renege on those promises. The truth is that if we could not trust the Government on housing, the health service, evictions or the cost of living, why should we trust it on the right to life either?

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