Joan Collins (Dublin South Central, Independents 4 Change) | Oireachtas source

As we know, five years ago people in this country voted in overwhelming numbers to confirm that abortion services are a vital and legitimate part of women's healthcare. We voted to have abortion services seen under the law as a legitimate healthcare service provided by the State. To date, that democratic choice has not been realised with over 775 women having to travel to obtain abortion services in the UK since the referendum. The majority of these women travelled for health-related reasons.

I welcome the Bill as another step towards providing access to free, safe, legal, local abortion services for anybody who needs them. Abortion is healthcare; everyone has a right to it. Our current system does not go far enough to guarantee that right. The protests we have seen across the country have had a massive chilling effect on people's ability to get the healthcare they need. Like other Deputies, I received emails from people who are part of the Together for Safety campaign reporting regular protests outside University Maternity Hospital Limerick and the National Maternity Hospital, Holles Street, as well as reports of semi-regular protests at various medical centres around the country. I thank Karen and Yvie for the work they do on this and for reporting it. This does not just affect those availing of abortion services. No one should have to walk past protestors on their way to receive any sort of medical care. I am aware that some may have questions over this law with regards to civil liberties. However, ordinary women and healthcare workers are simply exercising their rights to give or receive the healthcare for which we voted in the referendum to repeal the eighth amendment.

I do not believe this Bill will overly restricts people's right to protest. People can protest all they want. They just cannot do it in a deliberate way that restricts people's right to the healthcare they need. It is the politicians here who wrote the existing laws, not the patients or workers in health clinics and hospitals. If anybody has a problem, they should be protesting outside the Dáil, not outside of our healthcare facilities.

In its submission to the Joint Committee on Health, the Irish Council of Civil Liberties, ICCL, stated the following with regard to human rights aspects of this Bill:

ICCL considers that demonstrations outside abortion providers designed to shame, harass, and deter women from accessing abortion care and deter service providers from providing such care pose a serious risk to a range of rights. These rights include the right to privacy, the right to bodily integrity, including the right to mental and physical health, and the right to access healthcare without discrimination. Anti-abortion demonstrations can also negatively affect the right of medical service providers to access their place of work safely. Evidence shows that the effect of anti-choice protests outside abortion clinics can have long lasting negative effects on a person’s health and well-being and can deter women from accessing the medical care they need.

I cannot sum it up better than that. I respect everyone's right to protest. I have protested all my life. I do not believe that right is overly affected by this Bill. Having to stand 100 m further away is fully proportionate to ensure the rights of everybody to receive the healthcare they need with privacy and dignity and without harm to their health or well-being. The same goes for healthcare workers' rights to do their jobs as well. We still have a way to go in this country before we can ensure proper access to abortion services for all.

Our current laws are woefully inadequate to provide abortion services properly. I welcome the Minister's comments in April to the effect that we will have all 19 maternity hospitals offering abortion services by early next year but we need reassurances on this. Will the Minister provide a timeline and confirm that all maternity hospitals will offer the full range of abortion and reproductive health services. I ask the Minister what he will do about the number of GPs offering services. Only one in ten GPs offers full reproductive healthcare. The independent review highlighted the fact that there was a very bad spread in the south east, with the west, the midlands and Border counties having clear regional disparities when it comes to services. Some 50% of counties have ten or fewer GPs who offer full reproductive healthcare. The independent review also highlights that we are not training or recruiting enough doctors. I agree there needs to be service maps to identify service gaps. Each year, more and more women travel to access abortion services abroad and each year more and more of these women suffer due to health reasons. I think the Minister will agree that this is not good enough. It shows a failure to follow through on the democratic choice the people of this country made in 2018. We need to make sure that no matter who someone is, no matter how much money or what visa status they have or where in the country they live, they have full access to abortion services when they need them. I hope we get the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) (Amendment) Bill 2023 through the Houses as soon as possible in order that we can continue the work towards free, safe, legal, local abortion services and reproductive healthcare for all.

The mandatory three-day waiting period is identified in the report relating to this matter 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 the 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. Research has found that the respondents were almost universally consistent on the portrayal of the three-day wait as having next to no impact on their decision.

I will make a final point. I echo the calls made during this debate to keep a register of offences by individuals across all safe access zones.

I will be supporting this Bill. I will also support any amendments designed to enhance it.

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