Lynn Boylan (Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This is an incredibly important Bill that we are discussing tonight. I sincerely hope that it will be allowed to progress. I want to begin by commending the Together for Safety group which has tirelessly pursued the issue of safe access zones so that women can access the vital health services they are entitled to without harassment or fear. In response to constant anti-choice protests and activities outside the family planning clinic and maternity hospital in Limerick, Together for Safety was founded. It has meticulously documented the negative impact that anti-choice protests are having on people.

Abortion is legal in this country. That is the democratic decision taken by the people of Ireland in 2018. Repealing the eighth amendment sent out the very clear message that decisions taken by women regarding their bodies and healthcare are a matter for them and their doctors and nobody else. My colleague, Deputy Louise O'Reilly, in anticipation of protests submitted amendments to the original termination of pregnancy Bill and was given a firm commitment that if she withdrew the amendments, legislation would swiftly follow. Yet women still wait. Ministers have changed, elections have taken place and yet women still wait. All the while, protests continue. Even during the pandemic, protests continued. Together for Safety would have preferred for the Minister to have delivered on the commitment to bring forward the legislation but in the absence of such legislation and with the daily damage that is being done to women through these protests, it has come forward with its own legislation, which has been drafted by a constitutional legal expert, Dr. Jennifer Kavanagh, and barrister Clíodhna Ní Chéileachair.

The Bill is also endorsed by the following groups and individuals: the Abortion Rights Campaign, Ailbhe Smyth, Alliance for Choice, Amnesty Ireland, Clare ARC, Clare Women's Network, Disabled Women Ireland, Donegal ARC, Dr. Mary Favier of Doctors for Choice, Dublin Well Woman Centre, the Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Kerry for Choice, Leitrim ARC, Limerick Feminist Network, Limerick Women's Network, the National Women's Council of Ireland, the Northside Family Resource Centre, Offaly ARC, Rape Crisis Mid West, Rape Crisis Network of Ireland, Rebels for Choice, Safe Ireland, Sligo Asking for Angela, Tipperary for Choice and West Cork Rebels for Choice. It also enjoys the support of elected representatives in both Houses and from across the political spectrum. I would like to commend my colleague Senator Gavan, who is piloting its progress through the Oireachtas.

It is really important that we remember why this Bill is so essential. It is not about stopping the right to protest. As an activist who wears the badge of serial protester with pride, I have taken part in many protests here and internationally. I have been tear-gassed at protests and I led a high-profile campaign at European level for the release of imprisoned protesters in Egypt.The right to protest goes to the core of my values, and it is the pillar of democracy. The right to protest, however, does not confer a right to a captive audience. As a country we have accepted this when it comes to polling stations. In fact, we accept that it is not appropriate for political badges and slogans to have any place where people go to cast their votes. Surely a person accessing healthcare should be afforded similar rights to those casting their votes?

Women have been treated with disrespect, distrust and disdain since the foundation of this State. Forcing them to run the gauntlet through protestors just so they can enter or leave a healthcare facilities is nothing more than a continuation of that treatment. That has a lasting impact and please do not take my word for it but listen to the women directly impacted who shared their stories with Together for Safety:

1. One of the young women from the protest group stood at the traffic lights opposite the maternity hospital. She asked if I had an appointment. I presumed that she was making small talk so I said, yes, I did. She told me that she and her friends were praying that no babies were murdered in the hospital that day and asked me why I was attending. I told her my visit was none of their business and they should move their protest to outside of Leinster House and leave people to access healthcare. They were still there when I got out. I went over to them and told them they should be ashamed of themselves. They ignored me and shouted a decade of the rosary at me.

2. I have left that hospital with my two bonny babies. I have also left it with nothing after a dilatation and curettage or D&C, and I exited through a side door with a wicker coffin in my arms. Passing the hospital stirs up a mixture of emotions. Since I have heard of these protesters I have gone out of my way to avoid walking past the hospital as they would have added to my grief and heartache. The women of Ireland deserve peace. It is 2021 and we have had enough.

3. I went to my doctor for a routine check-up and protestors were outside her surgery chanting something like stop abortions. I said it to my doctor and she said that she had called the guards but they were there every morning that week and were upsetting patients.

That is just a sample of the emotional turmoil that women are being put through on a daily basis. It is not just women accessing healthcare, however; it is the healthcare workers, doctors, nurses and administrative staff. Is it any wonder then that not every maternity hospital, and only one in ten GPs, offer abortion services even after we repealed the eighth amendment?

The protestors know what they are doing. They know the chilling effect that their protests are having. They know exactly what they are doing. This is not about religious freedom. This is about curtailing women's freedoms. Nobody has ever stopped an anti-choice protest taking place in public places. I have countless teenage memories, as does anybody who grew up in Dublin, of walking across O'Connell Street and being accosted and having graphic leaflets pushed into my face by people from groups like Youth Defence. I have walked passed similar protests on my way into this building and into the European Parliament. That is democracy and freedom of expression. I will defend the rights of everyone to exercise those rights even if I fundamentally disagree with them. However, I will not defend someone who has a right to access healthcare, including abortion services, having to go through distress, intimidation and emotion abuse in order to fulfil that right. This Bill seeks to strike a balance that protects everyone's rights. I hope that we can progress it tonight and that it will be allowed to move on to the next Stage.