James Heffernan (Labour) | Oireachtas source

I wish to speak about an article that is being widely reported in today's media about the presentation given to Amnesty International's seminar yesterday by the master of the National Maternity Hospital, Dr. Rhona Mahony. If anyone knows anything about pregnancy and pre-natal practice, it is she. She is certainly an expert on the subject. It confirmed the fears I had about the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill when it came to this Chamber. I could not vote for the Bill at the time because I felt it did not go far enough in that it did not give the necessary protections I believed should have been afforded, especially to women who suffer a fatal foetal abnormality or women who become pregnant due to rape or incest.

The latest figures indicate that ten women a day must travel from this country to England to seek the necessary medical treatment, which is absolutely outrageous in this day and age. The country has moved on a considerable amount since the 1980s but the Legislature has not moved with the times on the issue. There is no reason in the world a woman diagnosed with a fatal foetal abnormality should be forced to bring her pregnancy to full term. It is an absolutely cruel practice, one we should not force on any woman. Legislation covering such matters in this country result in discrimination against women, especially those who come from poorer and more deprived areas who possibly cannot afford to make the trip to England and who are forced to self-medicate. Women buy all sorts of experimental drugs and take the treatment into their own hands at home without proper medical supervision. We should be able to have a mature debate in this House on the eighth amendment. Before the Government’s term ends it should put a referendum on it to the people. Most people are sensible when it comes to rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormality and they are matters on which we should legislate.