Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 37:

In page 61, line 12, to delete “pregnancy” and substitute “clinical pregnancy”.

This grouping of four amendments relate to the addition of a definition of "clinical pregnancy" in the context of eligibility requirements of a perspective surrogate mother. The change is proposed on foot of Committee Stage amendments from Deputies Shortall and Kenny. We had a good discussion on this and we all broadly agreed that this definition would be helpful. The definition agreed with expert advisers is that a clinical pregnancy means a pregnancy of not less than six weeks in gestation and in respect of which there is evidence of a gestational sac having being identified through an ultrasound scan. That is what the experts say. This would mean an early miscarriage would not necessarily disqualify a perspective surrogate mother from trying again to become pregnant, while maintaining the limits on the number of times a surrogate mother can participate in a surrogate agreement to protect the surrogate mother as discussed previously. I hope colleagues will see this as amendments put forward reflecting the debate on Committee Stage.

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