Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

What we do know is that abortion does not in any way improve mental health outcomes for women and is associated with a low to moderate risk of negative mental health sequelae in some women. It has been pointed out that one could not do the kind of study that would allow one to determine exactly whether, in situations where a person presented as suicidal, an abortion would help or hinder the situation. It is the first time I have ever heard the precautionary principle being invoked in favour of the taking of life, when the entire medical tradition is based on primum non nocere - first, do no harm. Far from it being a case, as the Government likes to posit, of "Let us save one life to avoid losing two", where there is an underlying mental health condition, it has been explained to us very clearly that abortion or any sudden life-changing decision could be contra-indicated - we heard that from Dr. John Sheehan, the perinatal psychiatrist. In the context of a situation where there is no underlying mental health illness, on one reading, as I have said here before, one might never have abortion because it would always be within the person's ability to change their mind.