Seanad debates

Thursday, 6 December 2018

Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill 2018: Second Stage

 

10:30 am

Photo of Brian Ó DomhnaillBrian Ó Domhnaill (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I am happy to speak today on this important legislation. I recognise, at the outset, that regardless of our political or personal thoughts on this sensitive subject matter, we all have a legislative imperative to scrutinise the Bill and to ensure it reflects best practice. In particular, I was struck by comments made last night by my colleague in the other House, Deputy Lahart, that this legislation will outlive us all in terms of political endurance. For good or for ill, how we stand on this may go down as a defining element of our political and legislative legacy. This, once again, speaks to the need to carefully weigh the issues at stake and to give honest if uncomfortable appraisal of each of its sections.

In light of this, I was very disappointed to hear some weeks ago that the Minister sought a waiver from the Business Committee of the other House to forgo pre-legislative scrutiny. It is my sense that if that careful and exacting process had been engaged in, we might have avoided some of the more inflamed interactions that took place on Committee and Report Stages in the other House. Let us not repeat that mistake and seek to rush through legislation for the sake of adhering to some arbitrarily defined and ultimately self-imposed political deadline.

This House and its Members must be accorded the space and the respect necessary for sufficient analysis. The pace at which this process is moving in terms of parliamentary analysis is quite striking, as no one can reasonably deny. For instance, amendments to the Bill on Committee Stage, which is due to be held on Monday, have to be submitted within one hour of Second Stage concluding. That is unacceptable. It is also highlights the reality of what the doctors outside of these Houses are saying. This week, the renowned and respected Dr. Austin O'Kennedy in Donegal said the Government is trying to push through a GP-led abortion service without providing any training, resources or equipment to the GPs. He called the process an "outrageous farce". Yet, the Minister is expecting GPs to implement it.

The referendum result did not somehow magically confer a blank cheque on the Government in terms of simply being able to present a Bill while at the same time decrying any attempt to amend it. We have a noble and honourable parliamentary process in this Oireachtas. It cannot be hurried along like an unwelcome guest whenever the desire to do so suits our agenda.

I will now deal with the substantive issues. It is clear the most striking line in the entire Bill we have before us is to be found in the definitions section.It states ""termination of pregnancy", in relation to a pregnant woman, means a medical procedure which is intended to end the life of a foetus". That is an absolutely stark and unequivocal statement and one from which we must not shy away in the course of this debate. I am aware that some of those who supported the repeal of the eighth amendment expressed significant reservation about the use of this definition in the mistaken belief it somehow imported the ethical vision of the eighth amendment back into primary legislation. That, I believe, does not bear any reasonable scrutiny. We must call things by their proper names. We must not engage in euphemisms or indirect language that evades the true grave nature of the Bill and, more importantly, what it seeks to make permissible or lawful. We are dealing with circumstances in which the life of a human child can be ended. We need to face this squarely. If we cannot defend that rationale or we seek to minimise what it is we are really about, deep denial will continue on the issue.

There is much more that could be said. There are many questions I would like to put and, no doubt, we will have an opportunity to do so. There are many outside these Houses with reservations, including those whom the Department, the Minister and the Government would wish to implement the legislation from the new year. As Senator Norris rightly outlined, issues arise over conscientious objection. I agree with him. We have learned nothing from what is happening in Norway, for instance, where on 11 October a doctor whose employment had been terminated took a case to the Supreme Court and won on the grounds of conscientious objection. Despite this, we are denying the right to doctors, midwives, nurses and pharmacists here. There is much yet to be debated and teased out in this Bill. In rushing it through we are doing a disservice to the people. I appeal to the Leader of the House and the Minister, Deputy Harris, who is not here to allow us the space necessary to tease out some of the issues on behalf of people outside the Houses who are raising issues with us. It is our obligation to raise and highlight their concerns, particularly in the light of the fact outlined by Senator Mullen, that over 1 million people, including those who voted "No", are not in favour of this legislation, as proposed by the Government. This is particularly the case when the Amárach research analysis is taken into consideration. We have an obligation to deal with this issue. If it is only a few of us who are standing up to represent the people in question, so be it, but I will not be found wanting in that regard in the coming weeks.

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