Ned O'Sullivan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I ask the Minister to ensure there will no be further gaffes of this nature between now and referendum day should we agree to the motion. This is an important issue, on which the onus will be on the Government. Opponents of repeal will not be slow to seize on any unnecessary faux pasby the Minister or his Cabinet colleagues in the coming weeks. It seems that the people in question have access to some very useful electioneering expertise, however dubious, and it behoves everyone on the repeal side to be aware of this.

I have never doubted the sincerity and tenacity of those on the anti-choice side. Many colleagues in my party have serious reservations, despite the courage and leadership of Deputy Micheál Martin who did what leaders are meant to do but very often do not, that is, showed courage, took the initiative and came clean with the people.

Some Members of the Lower House have questioned the proposal to allow abortion without indication in the first trimester. Many of those Members were satisfied that abortion services should be countenanced and facilitated in cases of rape and incest or where a fatal foetal abnormality was confirmed. The reality is that legislating for such outcomes is virtually impossible, as my colleague, Deputy Billy Kelleher, outlined in an excellent article last week in The Irish Timesin which he pointed out that persons accused of rape had the right to defend themselves. A woman would be required to give evidence in court, with all of the further trauma that would entail and the length of such proceedings would make the outcome entirely meaningless. As it stands, the eighth amendment condemns a woman to a maximum sentence of 14 years' imprisonment if she self-administers an abortion pill, while the rapist, if convicted, might serve less than half of that sentence.

Families who receive the sad news of a fatal foetal abnormality in a wanted and welcomed pregnancy are prevented by the eighth amendment from terminating it in this hopeless situation. It is fine if they travel to the United Kingdom, but their own medical consultant will not be able to travel with them or even make a referral. Allowing abortion in the first trimester would provide for the majority of such cases. It is a restricted proposition, with many in-built safeguards. It would be a GP-led service, with the attendant safety and security this implied. The published legislative framework would provide the necessary protection against the opening of the so-called flood gates that anti-choice activists continue to predict. The legislation will make it quite clear to the public for what they would be voting. There is no concealment or doubt, which is as it should be. I expect the Referendum Commission to ensure all and any information will be provided in a fair and even-handed fashion. The flood gates did not open when we passed the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, for which I am glad to say I voted, despite the forebodings and warnings of the Jeremiahs. What continue to remain open are the boarding gates to England, where often distraught women have to travel for treatment and procedures that are denied them here.

Abortion is not a happy or comfortable subject and everyone wants to be on the side of the angels. I do not have daughters, but if I did and one of them told me that she was contemplating abortion, I would instinctively do everything in my power to direct her otherwise. However, should she decide to proceed, I would support her decision totally. Women are not likely to take the decision to have an abortion lightly. For all women, it is a significant and often life-changing decision. Only the woman knows what is right for her ultimately and I believe the truly compassionate way is to assist and facilitate a safe outcome and reduce the trauma involved as much as humanly possible. To do otherwise is to criminalise and judge. I have been a public representative since 1985 and in that time I have learned never to judge. Every person's sorrow, affliction or difficulty is different. Who are we to impose a moral code that may work for us on an individual who has to make decisions of an enormity we may never have to contemplate because of our privileged upbringing, education, opportunities or social status?

Mar fhocal scoir, I make an appeal to Irish men - fir na hÉireann. For a long time I was slow to become immersed in this debate. Like I suspect many men, I felt it was primarily a matter for women and that men had no right to offer advice or even an opinion on the subject. I now know that it is my clear duty and that of all men to become involved and engage on this vital subject in support of the women we love, respect and trust. It is this question of trust in women that informs my thinking on abortion. I am afraid that not everyone shares my trust in women and it baffles me why. They are our mothers, wives, girlfriends, sisters and colleagues. Do we believe we need so coercive a measure as the eighth amendment to keep women on the straight and narrow, moral and responsible, or is it that there is still ingrained in us a controlling instinct-----