Alex White (Dublin South, Labour) | Oireachtas source

These are standards upon which we rely and are upheld by the professional colleges. They have been upheld in a way that gives us good reason to rely on them over many generations.

At the risk of inflaming some of the points made again and again regarding the overall thrust of this Bill, I must say it is manifestly untrue to state it gives the mother priority over the baby and that only the mother's life is protected.

I spoke on this issue in this Chamber yesterday. I will not put it in quite the same terms again for fear of offending people but I will state that nobody who had read this Bill could possibly come up with such a conclusion.