Paul Bradford (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As part of his assurances earlier this morning that we should not fear the legislation, the Minister made a passing reference to section 22. I will refer to section 2 but section 22 indicates it would be an offence to intentionally destroy unborn human life. Will the Minister of State reflect very carefully on what is being presented by Senator Healy Eames? I hope this is a lack of care with regard to the language being used as part of the presentation of the Bill, as whether we like it or not we must deal not with fantasy but with reality. The definition of "unborn" in the Bill allows for partial birth abortion, which we all know is an absolutely horrific practice. Can we be assured that this is a poorly written definition or an oversight on the part of the Government and that it can be corrected? I would not like any of my colleagues to support this definition as written and to reflect in ten, 15 or 20 years on the dreadful events that would have occurred as a result of that definition. It is an exceptionally serious detail that has been brought to the floor of Seanad Éireann by Senator Healy Eames and I ask the Minister to be exceptionally careful in responding and explaining why the language is open and dangerous.