Jim Walsh (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I know the Senator does not want to hear the hard facts but I would like her to listen to them and, perhaps, re-examine her conscience. A total of 66 infants survived NHS termination attempts in one year alone. Rather than dying at birth, as intended, they were able to breathe unaided. Approximately half were alive for an hour while one survived for ten hours. Once born, no medical help is offered. The statistics are contained in the small print of an official report by the confidential inquiry into maternal and child health commissioned by the British Government.

Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill was criticised for referring to disability. Perhaps it was a little unfortunate that his point got tangled up with the issue of foetal abnormalities, which is really challenging for us, but the point he made was no less valid. This report says that there is concern that babies with problems such as cleft palates or clubbed feet are being terminated because they are not perfect. Is this not reminiscent of anything from the 19th century?