Pauline Tully (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

In 2018, people voted for access to lawful termination of pregnancy services. It is five years on and these services are still not properly in place. Women deserve safe and unhindered access to these services. I want to see safe access zones introduced as soon as possible to ensure that women can get safe access to these services as quickly as possible. Senator Gavan of Sinn Féin was the primary sponsor of a similar safe access zones Bill introduced in the Seanad in 2021. It was drafted with the assistance of Together for Safety. I thank its members for their advocacy in keeping this on the agenda and each of the other progressive Senators who co-sponsored that Bill.

The Bill before us would create 100 m safe access zones around any healthcare premises where termination of pregnancy services may be provided. It would prohibit a person from obstructing or impeding access to a relevant premises for people availing of, or providing, termination of pregnancy services. It would also make it illegal for a person to communicate material or otherwise engage in conduct with the intent to influence the decision of a person who is availing of, or providing, termination of pregnancy services. It would also give the Garda the power to issue a warning to any individual it believes is or has engaged, or will engage, in such conduct. Where a person receives a warning, yet continues to engage in that activity, he or she may be arrested without a warrant. This would undoubtedly aid in ensuring that women can gain safe and unhindered access to lawful termination of pregnancy services. It is also important to clarify that the Bill does not aim to do a number of things. It does not, rightfully, seek to ban protests within 100 m of the Houses of the Oireachtas and does not prohibit the provision of information regarding termination of pregnancy services whether provided by, or on behalf of, the relevant healthcare provider.

However, there are a number of issues with the Bill as it stands. While it will address some concerns that have hindered the development of accessible termination of pregnancy services, it will not address all concerns. Every effort must be taken to attend to these issues as soon as possible. The independent review of the operation of Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 highlighted a number of issues this Bill does not deal with. For example, the report identified that there are clear regional disparities between services. It also highlighted that we are not training or recruiting enough doctors. It identified the south east, north west, midlands and Border counties as particularly underserved. We want to see services maps in order to identify significant service gaps so that local and regional solutions can be put in place.

The mandatory three-day waiting period is identified in the report as a contentious issue. The report informs us that the position of the World Health Organization is that a mandatory waiting period should not be required and the evidence does not establish any benefit to mandatory waiting periods for women. The report cites the Unplanned Pregnancy and Abortion Care Study commissioned by the HSE, which showed that respondents wish to access care as quickly as possible and do not perceive any benefit to having a three-day waiting period for reflection on their decision. Respondents stated that they felt certain of their decision, had not taken their decision lightly, and had reflected upon it prior to arranging an appointment with a GP or community provider. Researchers found that the respondents were almost universally consistent in their portrayal of the three-day wait as having had next to no impact on their personal decision-making process regardless of the length of time it took to make the decision.

We would like to see the issue of the three-day wait addressed quickly. The Minister could and should immediately progress amendments to the Act to remove barriers to abortion services, such as the three-day wait, rather than waiting to implement all legislative changes through this Bill. Testimony from gardaí during pre-legislative scrutiny also highlighted that they currently do not have an appropriate facility to record warnings given to those who do not respect safe access zones. As a consequence, a person may receive a warning at multiple locations without the Garda being aware of prior warnings, thus escaping penalties for repeated breaches of the Act. We want to see a clear, practical and effective system of recording prior warnings included in the Bill, with a guarantee that prior warnings will be counted where a person recommits an offence at a different location.

We want to see these issues addressed in a systematic way. We need to see a clear plan from the Government on how it will progress the recommendations in the independent report and we would like to see some of the recommendations, including some legislative changes, implemented very quickly, such as the removal of the mandatory three-day wait.

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