Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Once we bring it in with the suicide clause, it will open the door. This has happened in every country. The number of procedures carried out is in the order of 600 million in four countries, namely China, the United States, Britain and India. If one accounts for the rest of the world, the number is in excess of 1 billion. I could give statistics from many countries.

A document I saw recently indicated our maternal health rate is the second highest on a list of 150 countries. Countries with liberal abortion regimes are well behind us in that regard.

Let me quote Deputy Brian Walsh on Second Stage in the Dáil. He made a comment that resonated with me and, I hope, the Minister and others. He said we are now poised to perpetuate in legislation the absurd principle that the suicidality of one human being can be abated by the killing of another.

I have been particularly uncompromising in the language I have used and have made no apology for that because I believe the unborn have neither a voice nor a vote. If those of a pro-life ethos are not prepared to articulate the innocent, vulnerable status of the unborn, their cause is totally conceded. That would be to the shame of humanity.

On the suicide issue and the mental health issue in general, research in New Zealand, with which the Minister and his Department will certainly be familiar, shows the rate of mental disorders among women who have had an abortion is approximately 30% higher than among other women. The research was produced by Professor David Fergusson, who is pro-choice.

I came across information on a commission on abortion headed by Lord Rawlinson in 1992. The commission found that 80% of women who responded to a survey suffered from the long-term effects of abortion.

I tried to articulate three areas in my Second Stage speech. One was concern for women faced with a medical emergency and who need every treatment available to save their lives. I have no dispute with this and fully support the argument. The second area concerns the women who are badly affected by having the procedure of abortion. The third area is obviously the devastating effect for the unborn.

I have come across information from 2007 or 2008 that indicates that botched abortions mean scores of babies are born alive and left to die. It was revealed in an official record.