Kathleen Lynch (Cork North Central, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I very much appreciate the Senator's contribution because his is a side of the argument we must hear. Equally, however, we must be compassionate, logical and tolerant of the decisions others make. The legislation we will be able to produce on foot of the eighth amendment and the restriction in places on us will not satisfy anyone. There are more than two sides to this argument. Fundamentally, however, it is a question of trust, tolerance and ensuring women have a right to make decisions for themselves without termination being seen as a form of contraception; I agree with that completely. I trust women. That we are all here today means that women we know, grew up with and with whom we are close are deserving of that trust.

The debate was excellent. I have always believed the considered contributions made in this House are excellent. Clearly, there are two sides to this argument. However, while we can disagree, we cannot allow our personal views, no matter how narrow or far reaching they are on the legislation, to dictate the outcome. My job is to legislate. I legislate every day of the week, sometimes for things with which I do not agree, but legislating is my job. We can argue in advance of the legislation or argue the toss while legislating, but where the Constitution does not allow us to legislate, we need to have the relevant argument. Perhaps that is where we need to concentrate our efforts. The legislation, when produced, will be very limited. It will in no way and in no circumstances come close to what obtains in other countries or allowing abortion on demand. Anyone who says so in the course of this debate is deliberately being misleading. We need to have this debate and ensure women?s lives and health are protected. We all know women who, as a consequence of completing a pregnancy, have had their health impaired for life.

I thank Members for their contributions. I genuinely appreciate and have listened very carefully to them.