James Reilly (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I commend the joint committee members on the great work they have done on a very difficult and divisive issue. I commend the chairperson, who is a Seanad colleague. I understand just how divisive is this issue. We had the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill in 2013 and I spoke to every single member of the Fine Gael Party who was in the Oireachtas at that time, and it was a very difficult time for people. This issue is very complex and evokes strong emotions.

I have always felt as a doctor that I had no right to impose my moral view on my patients. I have always supported my patient in her decision. The reality of general practice is that one faces a whole range of issues. I remember one surgery, even though it was a long time ago, where on the same evening I met the mother of a 13 year old girl who was having abdominal pains. When I inquired as to whether her periods had started, I was scathingly rebuked by the mother for speaking like that in front of a child. The next patient to come in was a woman in her late 30s, the mother of nine children and pregnant again. She was in no way emotionally or physically able to go through with that pregnancy. That is the diversity and the reality that faces us.

During the time of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013, I also met women who had faced a diagnosis of fatal foetal abnormalities and had to travel to England to have terminations. Their stories of being forced back into this country like criminals with their child's remains in a shoe box were, to say the least, harrowing and made me, like others, ashamed to be Irish, let alone an Irishman.

There are many difficulties. Many people have been thinking about this and have in their minds been expecting that we would correct the issue around fatal foetal abnormalities, and deal with both rape and incest as well. It came as a bit of surprise to many when the committee recommended that one could have a termination without restriction up to 12 weeks gestation. If people read the report of the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment they will understand the rationale behind it. Certainly some of the statistics given might be slightly different but they are in the same range, where one source states that in one year some 1,800 women availed of an abortifacient pill across the Internet. I have been advising people forever not to buy anything on the Internet because one cannot be sure of what one is getting. These women put themselves at risk doubly because, first, they do not know what they are getting is the real thing, and, second, pills taken unsupervised may have complications and result in serious bleeding. We know from the experts that the chilling effect of the law, making this illegal, can prevent and delay women from seeking medical advice, because they are worried that somebody might report them. I do not know any general practitioner who would do so, but there may be some. Other people who work in general practice might have different views and I know for sure in the past we had issues such as that with some of the maternity hospitals.When we look at the statistics we can see there are at least 1,800 women using this pill and more than 3,500 women going to England to terminate their pregnancies. We cannot keep ignoring its problem and pretending it does not exist. We cannot keep sweeping it under the carpet. I hope that everybody will read the report. I hope we can have a reasonable and reasoned debate, here in the Houses, on the airwaves and in our communities, which will - as other Senators have already said and with which I firmly agree - respect everybody's views. I know there are people who will read the report and it will not change their view one iota. I respect that, but one should at least read the report and draw one's own conclusions.

As a final point, I appeal to people to take off the theological, philosophical and ideological hat. I do not mean this in a pejorative sense. I appeal to them to leave that to one side and to make the scenario real, to bring it home to their own door; to their sister, daughter, partner, granddaughter, niece or very best friend. Does anyone want these women to have to leave this country at a time when they are most vulnerable and going through the greatest of emotional traumas, and to be without that circle of support from family and friends that is so important? I certainly do not. I hope we can have a reasoned debate and that we can remove this amendment from the Constitution. I am aware there may be other ramifications. I believe it is critical to have the legislation available to us before people make the decision. On this occasion so far, the debate has been reasonable and if we can maintain a reasoned and respectful conversation then the country can only benefit from that, whatever the result of the referendum. I have made it very clear, however, that I support the repeal of the eighth amendment.