Deirdre Clune (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the legislation and congratulate the Government for bringing it to this point. The Minister and Minister for State at the Department of Health, Deputies James Reilly and Alex White, the Taoiseach and members of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, chaired by Deputy Buttimer, have done an enormous amount of work. The information that was provided to all of us following the Oireachtas hearings has been a valuable reference.

The decision of the European Court of Human Rights of December 2010 referred to the uncertainty generated by the lack of legislative implementation of Article 40.3.3^o and, more particularly, the lack of effective and accessible procedures to establish the right to an abortion. The court found that the failure by the State to implement Article 40.3.3^o constituted a failure to respect Ms C's right to her private life and a violation of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights. The court also found that the lack of an effective procedure to effectively determine her right to a lawful abortion in Ireland caused her considerable anxiety and suffering. She feared her life was threatened by her pregnancy and an uncertain legal situation. Article 46 of the convention sets out the duty of the State to abide by the judgment of the court. As we know, the implementation of the judgment is now being monitored by the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe, to which the Government is reporting on a regular basis.

The programme for Government committed to establishing an expert group which published in November 2012 a report considering the implications of the State's obligations on foot of the judgment of the European Court of Human Rights. The expert group stated clearly that, arising from the judgment, Ireland is under a legal obligation to put in place and implement a legislative or regulatory regime providing for effective and accessible procedures whereby pregnant women can establish whether or not they are entitled to a lawful abortion in accordance with Article 40.3.3^o, as interpreted by the Supreme Court. The expert group's report sets out clearly the options open to the Government, with legislation constituting its strongest recommendation. The expert group indicated that guidelines would not have binding force and would not, therefore, satisfy the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe or the requirements of the European Court of Human Rights. Guidelines are non-binding and do not have the force of law. Measures which affect human rights in a democracy must have a secure legal basis. At the hearings of the Joint Committee on Health and Children, Mr. Frank Callanan, SC, supported that view. He referred to Tysiąc v. Poland, a 2007 ECHR case in which attempts to regulate abortion rights through medical regulation and guidelines failed. Ms Justice Catherine McGuinness agreed at the joint committee hearings that the State should legislate for the X case to satisfy the European Court of Human Rights judgment.

Bishops have written to all Members and in Cork letters have been sent from bishops stating guidelines would be sufficient. Have they read the report of the expert group? Have they seen the legal evidence and submissions clearly stating guidelines would be insufficient? The Government would be careless and not be abiding by its duties if it tried to opt out and went down the route of guidelines which would not satisfy the European Court of Human Rights which has already stated this in another case. We would be back before it if we were to rely totally on guidelines.

In his submission to the Oireachtas hearings Mr. Frank Callanan, senior counsel, also referred to the Supreme Court's judgment in the X case and outlined how it had been affirmed in subsequent cases. He made the point that this established beyond question the status of the X case judgment as a constitutional precedent. Whether one agrees with the Supreme Court's judgment, it is lawful. It is a judgment of the courts and we cannot cherry-pick the decisions we like. We are obliged to abide by them and the Supreme Court has clearly stated abortion is lawful where a woman's life is at risk and that includes a risk of suicide. The proposal for which we are now legislating will be more restrictive than what is in place, as the Taoiseach said. The legislation will mean that this will be a safer place for women and their unborn babies. We have clear guidelines on how the mother's life can be saved if and when an unfortunate situation arises. If the life of the mother is at risk, there will be more than one medical consultant to support her. As the Minister outlined,there will be a register of terminations, indicating why they took place and the circumstances involved. The report will be sent to the Minister and laid before the Oireachtas.

There is no doubt that the risk of suicide, provided for in section 9, has dominated the debate and there are differing views on it. That points to the need to legislate, provide leadership, certainty and clarity. Dr. Anthony McCarthy, president of the College of Psychiatrists of Ireland, said suicide in pregnancy was a real risk. He outlined how the role of psychiatrists was not to predict but to assess the patient's mental state, mental health and the risk of killing herself. There are uncertainties in this area, but there are also well understood clinical markers and symptoms that are regularly used. A range of submissions were made to the Oireachtas committee, most of which showed that one could not predict suicide, but one could manage the risk and help the patient and ensure she was in a safe place. There is a small but real possibility of suicide in pregnancy and that is what we are dealing with and legislating for.

We must treat women with respect. I regularly hear people in this debate casting aspersions on the issue of suicide. We must trust women and the medical professionals. That is what the legislation is about. Abortion is not a reasonable treatment for suicidal ideation. No one said it was and it is a misleading statement to suggest it is. The question is not whether abortion treats suicidal ideation but whether there is ever a case where a woman can kill herself because of an unwanted pregnancy and, if so, what can be done to save her life and whether that could mean having a termination. A small number of very real cases have been cited.

I was amused when the Dáil passed the legislation and a cartoon by Martin Turner appeared in The Irish Timeson Thursday, 11 July 2013. In the cartoon the phrase spoken by Neil Armstrong when he set foot on the moon was used: last week was one very small step for mankind in Leinster House but it was the same story for the 4,000 women who must make the round trip to the UK every year. Coincidentally, in my office I have a Martin Turner postcard dating from 1992. It captured the moment, suggesting 17 February 1992 marked the introduction of internment in Ireland for 14 year old girls. Nothing is really changing for the 4,000 women who will travel from Ireland to the United Kingdom every year. Dr. Anthony McCarthy agreed with that point in an interview on radio last week. He said women would not be coming to him and envisaged that those who were fortunate enough to do so would continue to take the route to England.

I am not pro-choice and I am certainly not pro-life in the way the term has been abused. I do not want to associate myself with the term. I support life and protecting life, but I am a legislator, a realist and a pragmatist. Article 40.3.3° has led us to this situation and we need to act to ensure the uncertainty, which is unsatisfactory and unfair to pregnant women and medical professionals, is righted.