Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I agree that we held three excellent days of hearings on the abortion debate, to which the Seanad Chamber was appropriate. During the closing session yesterday, the Minister of State, Deputy White, gave a commitment that everything raised in the course of the hearings would be addressed and considered by the Government when preparing the full text of the Bill. Will the Leader ask the Minister of State to keep his word? The expertise at the hearings was second to none. Some of the experts outlined the dangers of unsafe practices when not proceeding on the basis of best medical science and advice. An expert in medical ethics confirmed yesterday that the State would be left open to liability if it did not proceed in that way.