Results 3,361-3,380 of 7,582 for speaker:Rónán Mullen

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: Will Mr. Thompson please try to estimate?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: If the Chair will excuse me, I know the rules. I have asked my question and got my answer. Could Mr. Thompson estimate approximately how many abortions he has carried out under clause E?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: What would Mr. Thompson consider a small number?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: I thank the Chair. I was fascinated by what Mr. Thompson had to say about seeking to distinguish between those children with Down's syndrome with normal hearts, as he put it, and those with abnormal hearts. May I tell him something about children with Down's syndrome and their hearts as we experience it in Ireland? Children with Down's syndrome generally have very big hearts. There are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: However, Mr. Thompson said that the foetus does not have rights in the UK. He does not seem to have a problem with that.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: Does Mr. Thompson have any ethical problem with that law? He seems to be happy to act under it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: He does not but I am still entitled to ask the question.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: We can talk about that again.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: I put it to the witness that he does not seem to have any ethical problem with the state of the law. He seems to be quite happy to act under it. May I put it another way? I suggest that Mr. Thompson has become desensitised to the humanity of these unborn children as a result of complying with procedures, including late-term abortions.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: Mr. Thompson adduced evidence regarding marital breakdown rates and the pressure involved and specifically mentioned trisomy 21, which is Down's syndrome. Is he not giving that evidence in order to make out a case that such children are more of a burden and, therefore, to somehow sanitise abortion on those grounds?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: In our culture, there are conventions on the rights of people with disabilities. Ireland has far more to do in that regard and many are concerned enough is not being done. However, disability is here being presented as a ground for abortion. Clearly, such people must be second-class citizens. Does it not make a nonsense of having a convention on the rights of those with disabilities if...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: I am trying to bring out how the United Kingdom system works and the impact it has on the medical profession, as well as on unborn children, of which everybody is aware. I wish to ask Mr. Thompson about foetal pain. He referenced the document from the Royal College which suggests it is less likely that there is foetal pain. It does not use the language of certainty. If there is a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: Mr Thompson may use his hands to indicate if he wishes or he can tell us in inches or centimetres what size a baby is. Many people discuss this issue as though it is mathematics but there are real-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: I ask the witness to demonstrate to those present and the television cameras.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: As Mr. Thompson said, he is not an expert on foetal pain. He is not certain enough of the dimensions of a 24-week-old foetus to be able to guide the committee in-----

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: Yet he put them through his hands, if I can use the expression. I am trying to establish whether, in the context of foetal pain, he can be certain about that either.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: He said he is not an expert on foetal pain. When Mr. Thompson carries out an ultrasound-guided abortion, what does he see? I have never seen such a thing. When he gives an injection, does the unborn move in any way? Is that indicative of feeling or any kind of awareness? Is it merely the nervous system? Can he give us an image of the procedure in that regard?

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: Lest the Royal College be wrong, what are the consequences of precautionary pain relief? The language the college uses is far from certain.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: I am finished. In the words of the late Spike Milligan,------

Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution: Termination in Cases of Foetal Abnormality: Mr. Peter Thompson, Birmingham Women's and Children's Hospital (29 Nov 2017)

Rónán Mullen: -----there is no Queen's counsel to take their brief in any event. I thank the witness for answering my questions.