Gabrielle McFadden (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

Like other speakers, I wish to say "Well done" to all the members of the committee, particularly to Senator Noone. We are immensely proud of her and how she conducted the whole process.

When we listen to debates on the issue of abortion we so often hear the voices of the zealots at either end of the spectrum, people who hold entrenched views and who believe that anyone who does not support their views is an enemy who must be shouted down. However, I am one of the many people who reside in the grey area between the two extremes. I consider myself to be both pro-life and pro-choice. I sometimes wrestle with the issues and my opinions may alter based on learning new facts or hearing new perspectives. This is not a sign of indecision, rather it is a sign that I want to make a mature and informed decision. I am willing to listen to others but I will make up my own mind.

I believe strongly in freedom of speech and I would fight for it but I also believe that this debate should not be confined to those who shout loudest or those with the most dogmatic positions, whichever side they are on. I believe that this position represents the vast majority of the population of this country. It is because I do not believe that I have all the answers and that I believe people should have the right to make up their own mind on this most sensitive issue that I have come to the position that I am supporting the repeal of the eighth amendment. Let the people decide for themselves. I do not believe that this makes me anti-life and I refuse to be categorised as such.

The eighth amendment was passed in 1983, as was mentioned, 35 years ago. That means that nobody currently under the age of 52 has had an opportunity to have their say on this issue. In those intervening 35 years, 165,000 Irish women have travelled abroad for a termination. That is twice the capacity of Croke Park. Regardless of the eighth amendment, 20 Irish women a day are travelling abroad for terminations or availing of a pill ordered online, which is taken illegally and unsafely.

As a modern secular republic, the time has come for us to be mature enough to take responsibility for the health and well-being of Irish women and girls. There are so many complex issues involved in this debate - threats to the life or health of a woman, rape, incest, fatal foetal abnormalities, crisis pregnancy and so many others - that I do not believe we can lay down a clear black and white dogmatic position to women. In the real world decisions on these issues should be made by a woman in conjunction with her doctor and her partner, and not written in the Constitution. That is why I have decided to support the removal of the eighth amendment. The responsibility then lies on us, in a mature and caring way, to legislate, but the content of that debate is for another day. Today I call on all public representatives in both Houses to exercise the ultimate in democracy and to allow the Irish people decide.