Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

It is quite clear that there is a political push on to legislate for abortion in circumstances for which there is no medical basis. This has to be exposed. Last week, in response to a question asked by a Fine Gael TD in the Dáil, we heard that an oversight committee is managing this issue, including the two Labour Party Ministers of State. Who else is on this oversight committee and how come nobody else has access to the process of deliberation that is going on the whole time?

At the all-party Oireachtas committee hearings, we clearly heard they encountered no situation where there was a mental health ground justifying abortion based on suicidal ideation. Why therefore is this push on, apparently from within the Government? This cannot end happily either for the unborn or for the women most concerned. It is vital that the Government pauses this issue now and focuses on satisfying the decision of the European Court of Human Rights by giving clarity on necessary medical interventions in all cases, in physical conditions where that is not in dispute. However, this bad idea of allowing abortion on any mental health ground, without any medical or scientific basis for it, is just bad public policy and irresponsible politics.