Sharon Keogan (Independent) | Oireachtas source

I second the amendment to the Order of Business.

In December 2023, the health committee published its report on the recommendations proposed by the chairperson of the three-year review into Ireland's abortion laws. I attended the meeting of the health committee on 18 October that was also attended by the chairperson of the review and two researchers who helped in the drafting of the report relating to the review. At this meeting, when the chairperson was asked by my colleague Senator Martin Conway whether there were any other jurisdictions in the world besides Ireland that mandated a three-day waiting period for any medical procedure, she answered not that she was aware of. I was taken aback by this answer, which seemed to imply that Ireland's abortion policy somehow made it an international outlier. In reality, there are just shy of 30 countries in the world that require women seeking abortions to undertake a waiting period ranging from 24 hours to seven days. Countries such as Germany, Portugal and Spain have the same three-day review period as Ireland. I was unimpressed by the abortion review in the context of its thoroughness. I felt there were so many unanswered questions on the true impact of the abortion legislation. The opportunity for a critical and fair examination was, unfortunately, lost. Instead the end product resembled a campaigner's wish list and was bolstered by selective evidence. Crucially, its supporters would tear up the contract made with the electorate in 2018. The Irish electorate was presented with clear terms by the Government on what a post-repeal Irish law would look like. The health committee's report noted that in the opinion of some individual members the recommendation entailed a substantial departure from the proposals presented to the electorate before the May 2018 referendum. This is undoubtedly true. Even proponents of the legislative change should acknowledge this. If this were done it would represent a severe democratic deficit.