David Norris (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Senator Leyden agreed with the statement of my colleague, Senator Mullen, to the effect that the Minister for the Environment, Communications and Local Government, Deputy Hogan, was playing games and making it up as he went along and the Government was giving a version of events that did not square with the truth and did not appear to give a damn about the truth. The Senator makes a very interesting observation, one which I would make about the Iona Institute. What is sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander. Today, we heard another example of a distinguished medical person - in this case Professor David Fergusson from New Zealand - distancing himself from the use the Iona Institute and others, including Members of the House, made of his research. Professor Fergusson stated his research had been used in a misleading manner. I hope those who so used it will withdraw their comments. This is the third or fourth time the Iona Institute has been caught misusing scientific research and it finds itself in the awkward position of having the authors of various scientific papers disassociating themselves from such use.

It raises a number of questions about the relationship this self-appointed group has with integrity, truth and understanding.

I am not impugning any motives on anybody's part but if one looks at what happened the last time in respect of putting Article 40.3.3° into the Constitution, which was completely sectarian and opposed by leading members of my church, it established the theological position of one dominant faith and had extraordinary unintended consequences, as theologians would say. I was very surprised there was no term or time-line offered for the date within a pregnancy up to which a termination could ensue. I discovered this was because of the wording of Article 40.3.3°. We are almost unique in the world in having this situation which, no doubt, is as a result of the well-intentioned meddling of people who did not know what they were talking about.

I refer, in conclusion, to the possibility of excommunication, which is a separation from the sacraments, the body of Christ and all the rest of it. This is very serious and it is regrettable that Cardinal Brady is the person who took this step. Whatever about that, to do that to a politician, any politician, who acts in conscience and in line with the law, is extraordinary. We should be very careful about this. In 2009, a nine year old girl in Brazil, pregnant as a result of incest, was taken by her parents to have an abortion because her pathetic, childish, little body could not tolerate giving birth. For doing that, she and her entire family were excommunicated by the local archbishop. That is completely unChristian and I hope that nothing even remotely approaching this will happen here in either personal or political life.