Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I see a good deal of merit in what Senator Mullen has said. There is a danger in relying on a good-faith opinion. How can we ethically justify the taking of a life of a baby without clinical markers? The Minister has given us many assurances, but, to be fair, once this law is passed they will carry no weight. There is nothing in the legislation to prevent two psychiatrists from signing away the life of an unborn child once they claim it is in their reasonable opinion. Since there are no clinical markers to judge whether the intervention is necessary, they are free to sanction as many abortions as they wish and the absence of that objective standard concerns me greatly. Will the Minister comment on why there are no clinical markers?

I have before me a letter from a doctor. She has given her Medical Council registration number. She has spoken about her experiences working in the United Kingdom although she is now working here. She said to me that a consultant in obstetrics in the United Kingdom with whom she worked some nine years ago advised her at the outset that he would do any abortion on any patient who requested it. He said that he could rely on like-minded colleagues in psychiatry and general practice to sign the necessary legal forms. The justification offered for this policy was that no doctor could be certain that a woman with an unwanted pregnancy would not complete suicide.

The Minister of State at the Department of Health, Deputy Alex White, justified the need for the Bill on the same grounds. This is the danger of relying on a good-faith opinion. The rate of suicide among women in pregnancy in Ireland is of the order of between one in every 250,000 and one in every 500,000. Thank God, it is a rare event. However, we know that women experience suicidal thoughts in pregnancy. In fact, approximately 15% of pregnant women experience suicidal thoughts, but this does not mean that they complete suicide.

I return to my original question. How can we ethically justify the taking of a baby's life without reliable clinical markers? How can we rely on good faith when we know there is boundless evidence to show that after several years this becomes common practice? There are even pre-signed forms in the United Kingdom such has been the abuse of the system in time. If the Minister could answer those questions I would be delighted.