Results 4,921-4,940 of 7,583 for speaker:Rónán Mullen

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: I move amendment No. 19: In page 9, line 4, after "obstetrician" to insert "or a medical practitioner of another relevant speciality, not being a psychiatrist,".I discussed this with Senator Crown. The Bill provides, in the case of section 7 procedures, that the procedure must be carried out by an obstetrician at an appropriate institution. I understand that at an earlier stage, the heads...

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: I thank the Minister for getting in touch with his chief medical officer and whoever else on the question of foetal pain. I certainly anticipate there will be further debate on this subject on Report Stage. It is noteworthy that the issue did not arise until the Seanad raised it. It also is noteworthy that despite being the subject of amendments of which the Minister and his team would...

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: Section 9 is the key provision. I hope the Leas-Chathaoirleach will allow me to clarify a few issues. First, no suicide prevention expert has said that what is in this Bill is a good thing. In fact, we heard one very eminent suicide prevention expert, Professor Kevin Malone, warn about the dangers of foregrounding suicidal feelings in the way the Bill does. Although I am not an expert, I...

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: Senator Gilroy also raised the question of reasonableness. He seems to be suggesting that in the case of a certification under section 9 that there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother which can only be averted by this procedure, the opinion of the practitioners in question must be reasonable and must be in good faith. However, that is not what the legislation says. In...

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: The standard of reasonableness for the purpose of this legislation is defined in the legislation. With respect, that is the point which has been missed. The Bill does not require that an opinion be reasonable and in good faith. Rather, it tells us what "reasonable" means for the purpose of this legislation. It is not an objective test but a good faith test which is entirely subjective....

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: Yes.

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: The Minister has not had a chance to respond to me yet.

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: I would like to make a comment and respond to that response. I want to point out as well that I have not questioned anybody's integrity here today. I might have shown my asperity with the quality of some of the responses that have been given but I have not questioned anybody’s good faith. There have been several implications about my good faith in bringing forward amendments and I...

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: I would like to address it. First, I accept Senator Gilroy’s good faith in his desire to prevent suicide and to do everything to address the problem of suicide.

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: Could I ask the Leas-Chathaoirleach to make a ruling? When Senator Gilroy says something that I feel is unjust to me I may shake my head sadly. I make a little note and I prepare to rebut it when I get a chance because I think that is the more courteous thing to do. Senator Gilroy has not let me expand on what I was going to say. I know what he means. He suggests that by raising these...

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: There is a difficulty because my amendment No. 15 which is in the group of amendments to which I am speaking is an amendment to section 9.

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: I move amendment No. 15: In page 8, line 31, to delete “have jointly certified in good faith that” and substitute “and having regard to the relevant clinical evidence, have jointly certified that”.These issues are somewhat fite fuaite, but in a way they follow directly and logically from what we have been talking about for the last while. Whereas what we are...

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: It is subjective.

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: If only a good faith opinion is required but there is no reference to evidence-based practice, we are going backwards and not forwards. The primary reason for the changes I am proposing in these amendments is that any reasonable opinion be based on medical grounds alone, and not on any extraneous non-medical considerations. In the Bill in its current form, there is a remarkable lack of any...

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: With great respect to Senator Hayden, she seems to be talking about the situation once the child is born. What is at issue here is what protection a doctor has to ensure that if he or she acts in a way that does not take the life of the child but brings the child into the world alive, he or she will be protected in light of the criminal law in that regard and that he or she is not perversely...

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: I thought I was being kind. What we cannot get away from is that there is new legislation on the block and as we all know, this new legislation changes the existing situation.

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: By definition, this will be the legislation referred to in the context of any litigation. Therefore, we have a changed situation, whether Senator Gilroy likes it or not.

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: The legislation is not about whether we trust doctors or not or about whether a particular doctor will set out to do wrong things. Legislation should be about putting an issue beyond doubt. I trust doctors, but I am not so sure I trust all doctors. We have not heard an argument against including protection for a doctor who intervenes in a way that leaves the child alive. By way of...

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: What it says is that it is lawful to end a human life where the people who have certified that the abortion or procedure is called for have "had regard" - whatever that means - to the need to preserve unborn human life. Therefore, it is the people who certify the abortion who must have regard to the need to preserve human life, but the only protection for the doctor is if he or she carries...

Seanad: Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013: Committee Stage (Resumed) (18 Jul 2013)

Rónán Mullen: Yes.