Seanad debates

Thursday, 26 March 2015

Children and Family Relationships Bill 2015: Committee Stage

 

10:30 am

Photo of Averil PowerAveril Power (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

On the issue of anonymous donation, while I have great sympathy with the motivation behind the amendments, we need to strike a balance because people who are born through donor assisted human reproduction have an entitlement to their identity. The adoption laws have done untold damage to many Irish people because they have operated under a veil of secrecy that has resulted in people being denied the right to any information about who they are and where they come from. It is difficult to describe the importance of having this information. Knowing who one's parents are is an important part of a person's identity as it allows him or her to find out where their personality, looks and different aspects of themselves come from. Those who are denied this information lose a part of themselves and this will cause them great pain. For this reason, I cannot support amendments which propose anonymous donation.

Having said that, I have sympathy with the patients to whom Senator Crown refers, those who desperately want to have children, would make amazing parents and would find it easier to access anonymous donations if the restrictions applied in the Bill were not in place. The legislation does not outlaw donation but simply provides that certain information should be collected and made available to those who have been conceived through the donation process. While this makes the process more restrictive, it is also appropriate. I have great sympathy with people who wish to conceive but conception must not come at all costs and not at the cost of bringing people into the world who will never have an opportunity to find out anything about their genetic history. This country's experience of adoption shows that this causes permanent loss for people because they are never able to find out about a piece of themselves and their origins.

I will propose an amendment later to provide that people conceived by donor-assisted human reproduction have access to basic information about their family's medical and genetic history. We must strike a balance between our sympathy for the reasons people use donor-assisted human reproduction and the need to respect the rights of those who are conceived through that process. As an adoptee, I have many misgivings in this area. These are connected to my experience of not growing up with a genetic parent and not having access to information.

I have sympathy with Senator Crown's position and my party's position is to support assisted human reproduction in a controlled and regulated environment. I support the Bill because it at least provides for greater regulation than is currently in place. It is important, however, that those who are conceived through this process have access to as much information as possible.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.