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

Today is International Safe Abortion Day. Last night's healthy vote on moving forward on the safe access zones is to be welcomed. International Safe Abortion Day has huge relevance for many countries, including Malawi which I visited during the summer as part of a delegation to look at reproductive rights of women and girls. In one of the poorest countries in the world, crippled by IMF debt, this is a huge issue that kills thousands of young women and girls every year. It is not part of my question. I am just talking about the relevance of improving reproductive rights for women and girls. I have two questions for the Tánaiste, following on from last night's vote. Will the Government prioritise moving on the safe access zones legislation as quickly as possible? What is the real intention of the Government in relation to the review by Marie O'Shea on the need to extend the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 to include removing the three-day wait, to decriminalise abortion and to ensure that the provision of abortion is not a lottery in this country and does not depend on where one lives or how much money one has in one's pocket?

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