Paul Gavan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the Minister. I again commend colleagues from across the Chamber who took part in the Oireachtas committee, so ably chaired by Senator Noone.

At this stage it is important that those of us who believe in repeal take off our party hats, put them to one side and work together because this issue is too important to score cheap political points. It is too important because it is about the people we care about. It is a wrong that this has been in place for far too long.

The Bill is very simple. It is about giving people a right to have a say. As other speakers have pointed out, one would have to be at least 53 years of age - unfortunately I just about am - to have taken any part in the last campaign. I was a bit taken aback that 32 Deputies voted to deny people a right to vote. We have to respect each other's positions. I have good friends who take an opposite view on the issue and I respect their views entirely. However, I cannot accept people voting to deny our people the right to a vote on this issue.

We can all agree that 1983 was a very different time. I certainly know it was. Let us just take a couple of examples. It was not possible to get a condom without being married and only then with a prescription. It was such a dark and backward time for women. As the previous speaker said, the apex of that was this awful referendum. I remember how bitter and divisive the campaign at the time was. It was absolutely horrific. We had moving statues in the 1980s. Let us move to 2018 and let us finally update our Constitution by getting rid of something absolutely appalling. Hundreds of thousands of women have suffered as a result of that referendum.

In the past few weeks the newspapers reported that a 12-year old child had to go to Britain for an abortion. I would be astounded, but unfortunately I have to recognise that there would be a minority of people in this Chamber who think that is okay. It is shocking that in 2018 a child who has been sexually assaulted and finds herself pregnant at the age of 12 has to leave our State in order to get a termination. How absolutely shameful that is. However, it is there because of the eighth amendment.

There were warnings at the time but they were disregarded because unfortunately we were completely enthralled to a quite evil Catholic Church at that time. We know that now because of the historical information that has come out since. We know that tens of thousands of women suffered in mother and baby homes, and had their babies wrenched from them and sold for profit. That is the country we are coming out of.

If we do not win this referendum, we will condemn another generation of women to have to wait and take the planes or boats, or order abortion pills not really knowing what they will be getting in the post. They do not even know if they will get them in the post because 800 of them were confiscated last year. What do people who are opposed to repeal want to do about that? Do they want to employ more customs officials so that we can stop more abortion pills coming into the country? Is that the solution here? Surely to God, we can do better than that.

We have heard about the science of this. I am loath to talk about a personal experience, but I will share this with the House. Before we had our three children, my wife suffered a miscarriage which was extremely upsetting, particularly for her. Even though this was not that long ago, the services were absolutely appalling. I acknowledge that the Minister has made some really good recommendations and we will hold him to account over those. We were handed the 12-week embryo and it was in a matchbox, which indicates its size. One would not think so from the posters of the well-funded campaigns, but that is the reality.

The Sinn Féin position is clear. We believe that where a woman's life or health is in danger, she must have access to a termination if she wants one.Access to termination must also be available in cases of rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormality. I make no apologies for referring to the chilling testimony given to the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution by representatives of Terminations For Medical Reasons Ireland. I also remind the House that the people who run our maternity hospitals, whom we respect, were absolutely clear on this matter. They begged us to change the current position under which a woman must wait until she is dying before she can receive the medical intervention she needs. That is not good enough. I cannot believe anyone would disagree with their view. If we think of someone we care about and love being told she must wait until she is dying, surely we are better than that.

If we are to win this referendum, we must have conversations because this is the one element that is lacking. While many of the people on the other side of this argument are genuine, perhaps they do not understand the detail of the issue and how serious it is for women. The conversations we have with our friends and neighbours will be key to winning this debate and we must have them in a non-party political manner. My colleagues on the other side of the Chamber know I disagree with them almost every day. However, I will not disagree with them or the Minister on this matter because it is too important. I acknowledge the colleagues in the Fianna Fáil Party, including Senator Ned O'Sullivan, who had the courage to stand up and tell the truth of their experience.

I want to address the issue of the 12-week gestation limit. Sinn Féin, because it is thoroughly democratic, does not have a specific policy on this issue but we will have one in June. If one believes legislation is required for cases of rape or incest, there is no way to implement it other than by introducing a 12-week gestation limit. Is anyone seriously suggesting we ask a woman to certify she has been raped? Considering such an approach would be an appalling vista. A 12-week limit is required and while Sinn Féin has not made a definitive decision on the matter, I am delighted the ard-comhairle has drawn up a motion setting out a policy and that the leader of Sinn Féin has taken such a clear position on it. I fully support a 12-week gestation limit, not only on the rape and incest grounds but also because of the issue of abortion pills. We cannot stop women taking abortion pills, because they are doing so regardless of whether we like it. I do not believe the State has a right to tell a woman who finds herself a few weeks pregnant that she must continue the pregnancy, regardless of what she wants. The State currently has the right to tell her to continue with her pregnancy for the best part of ten months. I do not believe we can continue to do so or relegate women to second-class citizenship for even one more day.

We need respectful debate on all sides. If we are to win this referendum, we also need leadership on all sides. I appeal to those Senators who have not yet declared their position to tell us where they stand. People in Limerick are anxious to find out where all their public representatives stand on this issue. I will work with anyone to win this referendum. I have agreed to work with Deputy Jan O'Sullivan and we will share a platform in a couple of weeks. I will also work with any representative of any party of good will because if we do not win this battle, we will condemn another generation of women to hardship and potentially disastrous health effects. As a House, we must do better. We must start tonight by ensuring we do not deny the people of Ireland the right to vote on this issue. It has been 35 years too long. Let us continue the debate and be respectful to all sides.