Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I support the call by Senator Darragh O'Brien for a debate on perinatal hospices. We were all impressed by the families who addressed us prior to the summer break, but the core question is how to create a society that welcomes families with children who have been diagnosed with disabilities or foetal abnormalities which may be fatal in the short term, and provides the necessary legal and social support for parents and their babies. It is important to revisit some of the themes that were opened up on the last occasion in order that we can learn the Government's plans, even in these straitened times, to ensure families in this situation receive the proper support.

The proposal last week to open a Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast caused concern for a significant number of people. These events are, of course, taking place in a neighbouring jurisdiction but what happens there matters a great deal in terms of how these issues evolve in this jurisdiction. We should welcome the warning from the Northern Ireland Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety, Edwin Poots, MLA, that the clinic must be careful to remain within the law. I would go further to argue that Marie Stopes is an organisation that cannot be relied on to respect the law of the land. It has no respect for human life, for mothers or for children.