Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

This amendment seeks to avoid a scenario whereby discussing abortions in a coffee shop which happens to be in a safe access zone becomes a criminal act. As it stands, if two people were in a café within 100 m of a service provider and person A said to person B that he or she has been thinking about birth control bills and person B gives him or her any advice on such, either for or against, then person B has committed an offence under this Bill. One might respond that this is ridiculous. It is but that is what this Bill does. It gives legal effect to such a scenario and this amendment seeks to change that. This is not what this Bill sets out to do but this is exactly what it does, despite the dubious claims of the Bill's architects that it was drafted by legal, criminal and constitutional law experts. Any indoor area should not be considered a safe access zone. If the staff or owners of such a premises have an issue with campaigners, that can be dealt with under the current laws on trespassing. As this amendment would in no way impact the intended effect of the Bill, there is no reason for this amendment not to be accepted.