Rónán Mullen (Independent) | Oireachtas source

As I was saying, the Minister of State's answers were shaky and porous, not just from the point of view of the welfare of the unborn child but also the welfare of women. I have been told the Government is in some kind of contact with medical insurers but it is not a matter for law. What exactly does "not a matter for law" mean? I would have thought that when bringing in abortion one would be keen and anxious to bring reassurance on all issues of concern to legislators, regardless of whether one likes those legislators or agrees with their point of view. There is absolutely no reassurance in the statement that the Government talks to medical insurers. I am sure it does talk to them but I would love to know what it is talking to them about. I have not been told here and we certainly have not been told what the medical insurers think of the Government's failure to insist that ultrasound always be in place. Instead, we have been told to trust doctors. I have no problem trusting doctors but doctors sometimes get things wrong. What happens when they get things badly wrong and are given false information, not necessarily deliberately? We know some people find themselves in varying and different circumstances. What happens if the fatal consequences for the unborn are compounded by adverse health effects for the mothers involved? Those are the reasonable questions to which I have sought answers and I have not been given them.