Brian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I agree with Senator Burke in some of what he said. We have an exemplary medical profession in private and public practice. Of course, their responsibilities are governed by the medical procedures prescribed in law.

What we are going to do is bring in a new medical procedure to deal with suicidal ideation in women. It is a new procedure that is not legal in this country until the Bill is passed. Every doctor takes the Hippocratic oath which is, first, to do no harm and, second, to do no harm. If that is the case, will doctors have the opportunity to refuse training in abortion procedures? Will new doctors and midwives have the opportunity to refuse training in abortion procedures or will they become part of compulsory qualifications training for them? The amendment tabled by Senator Jim Walsh on medical procedures is critically important and goes to the core of the Bill. Will the procedures and drugs used in countries where late term abortions are legal be used here? Before voting on the Bill, Government Senators would like to know whether such procedures and drugs will be used here. What is the objective in training provided for staff to ensure no child is born disabled as a result of the termination process? Does the Minister propose to introduce regulations in this area?

I read an interesting article, the subject of which is a documentary on medical procedures on Channel 4. The documentary focuses on the work of Dr. John Spencer, the senior clinical director for the Marie Stokes clinic. He is one of only a handful of doctors in the United Kingdom who perform abortions up to the legal limit of 26 weeks. In his contribution he outlines that women are hardly ever asked for any more details because they are gruesome. Why should we ask for more details? With the vote we cast we are making a decision not for our partners, sisters or wives but for the general population. We have every right to ask what are the procedures. Dr. Spencer goes on to explain, in the "Dispatches" programme aired on Channel 4 in 2007, that he broke a huge medical taboo and spelled out exactly what happened during an abortion. I am quoting some of the comments relevant to the discussion on the procedures used:

Though we do not show the aborted foetus, what viewers [viewers being the mothers] will see and hear may very well shock them, but it is a vital contribution to the whole debate. In the first 12 weeks or so of pregnancy, doctors can use a simple suction procedure. After that, the surgery becomes more complicated [as outlined by Senator Jim Walsh]. Dr Spencer opens a fresh pack of shiny instruments. He's an extremely calm, softly spoken man, which somehow makes his words all the more devastating. "The foetus can't come out in one go. We haven't dilated sufficiently for that. The foetal parts are soft enough to break apart as they are being removed..." In other words, he has to dismember the foetus inside the uterus and pull it out, bit by bit. He uses an ultrasound scan to guide him. Even then, some body parts are too large to come out intact.

If we are voting for this-----