Colm Burke (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

On that technical point, Mr. Justice McCarthy of the Supreme Court noted in the X case: "I think it reasonable, however, to hold that the people, when enacting the amendment [to the Constitution in 1982] were entitled to believe that legislation would be introduced so as to regulate the manner in which the right to life of the unborn and the right to life of the mother could be reconciled". That is exactly what we are doing with this piece of legislation. That was the judgment in the X case 20 years ago.