Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I am not the only person in this Chamber to have been saddened by the result of this referendum. I must say, on behalf of the one third of the voting population who voted "No" on Friday, that I am very sorry for all of those children who will lose their lives in the future as a result of this decision and for the many women who will be hurt by the decision to have an abortion, as often happens.

I too wondered at the tones of triumph, the cheering and the hoopla but I was more taken over the last few days by the attitude of some gentle friends of mine who found themselves bewildered by that. One could not think of an occasion in the western world where there was such cheering about a decision that was so directly related to a decision to end the lives of other human beings. Those peoples' opinions, their hurt and their sense of bewilderment matter and need to be spoken for and to.

I want to thank the many people who campaigned on the "No" side with dignity and who have a lot more work to do in the future. Now they have to do the very same work that they would have been doing anyway, but without the support of the law, which is to try to persuade each new generation that there is a better, more life-giving and humane choice than abortion.

Much has been made about the debates and whether they would be divisive. When it comes to life and death decisions, there will be times when debates are divisive. I know that many people voted "Yes" on Friday because they accepted the emotional power of arguments for abortion in particular tragic circumstances. I never disputed how people could understand that perspective, even if my perspective is different. However, I regret that there were also arguments made, some from those in high places, about the compromising of women's health if we did not change our law or the prosecution of women, even though that has never happened in this country. Such arguments really spoke to fear, were not grounded in reality and were all about getting a result over the line.I regret that there was too little time, public space and open debate in our forum to seek to prove some of those arguments untrue.

The margin was decisive, but when one in three people continues to believe that abortion is profoundly wrong, not necessarily for religious reasons but because it offends and denies human dignity and rejects the literally tiny minority, is something more than a majoritarian impulse that insists that every legislator must be on board not required? People have given politicians a free hand to decide on this issue, and I believe that in a healthy democracy we should wonder why one third of the membership of these Houses is not regretting the vote last Friday. If one third does not oppose legislation that would deprive a minority of life, does that not show that the democratic deficit remains on the "No" side?

I appeal to the majority, which now has a free hand, to exercise that hand with caution, care and thoughtfulness, rather than rushing. I ask it to consider the position of people working in healthcare who feel they should not be forced into having any hand, act or part in something they believe is nothing to do with healthcare. Calling it obstruction because they do not want to refer a person to someone who will do something they believe is unjust lacks tolerance. There is still time to consider whether we should support everything the Government is proposing, particularly in the area of late term abortions. We now have the power to do something, but we should ask ourselves whether we ought to do it.