Brian Hayes (Fine Gael)

I know that.

Have we learnt anything from the 1980s? It seems not if people cannot get up and make their position without finding it denigrated because it does not find favour with another person. I heard Senator Coghlan's remarks today and whether one agrees with Senator Coghlan or anyone else, anyone in this House has a right to make those points. People should bear that in mind.

I agree with Senator O'Toole's comments that we have to learn from past debates, particularly the debates that have bedevilled this country on the abortion issue for the past 25 years. They generated a lot of heat but I am not sure we have learned anything from them as a people. We did not focus on what is really important, which is the woman in all of these cases. I have changed my view on the abortion issue at least twice during my adult life so far, and I might even change it twice again. People are open to change and once one takes a fundamental, principled position on this issue, one is tied to it for one's life. That is not the way most people carry on. Most people change their view because of their own experience.