Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

Section 9 is the key provision. I hope the Leas-Chathaoirleach will allow me to clarify a few issues.

First, no suicide prevention expert has said that what is in this Bill is a good thing. In fact, we heard one very eminent suicide prevention expert, Professor Kevin Malone, warn about the dangers of foregrounding suicidal feelings in the way the Bill does. Although I am not an expert, I believe I am on very safe ground in warning about the wider collateral dangers of the legislation. However, my primary focus is on the danger to the unborn child of allowing abortion in situations where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother originating in the threat of suicide. I certainly am on safe and accurate ground in so characterising it. We have heard all about the incidence of false positives and so. There are clinical markers for suicide, but they are very uncertain. The reality is that psychiatrists find it extremely difficult to know whether a threat of suicide is likely, tragically, to materialise. We heard other psychiatrists saying it should not be a matter for their profession to determine this issue at all. Senator John Gilroy is not doing me justice in this instance, because there is a clear problem here.