Erin McGreehan (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

This is my first time speaking on the Bill. I welcome the Minister. I am covering for my colleague, Senator Clifford-Lee, who cannot be present.

It is important to discuss the reason for the Bill and why the amendments should not be accepted. As Senator Clonan stated, when people are going into a facility for gynaecological or obstetrical care, others have no idea what is going on. I, too, was a parent who left empty-handed from the Coombe. It is the most desperate walk of your life, walking through those corridors with beautiful, pregnant women all around you, and all you want to do is hold your own baby, only to be accosted outside. Senator Mullen might not think it is accosting, but it is to be accosted to be reminded of what you have left behind or what you did not get a chance to have. I am someone who has had babies and has lost babies. The Senator spoke about care for the mother and voting "No" in the referendum because of his respect for the mother and his view that the mother should not be taken out of the Constitution, but if he cares so much for the mother, what about the vulnerable mother who is just after losing her baby or having an abortion for whatever reason she chooses or needs to have it? An abortion is not a happy thing. No one is happy about having an abortion. No one is happy about losing a baby. If Senator Mullen is actually serious about caring for a mammy, he would allow a safe space around a healthcare building. Can we not do that for a mammy? People have everywhere else to protest. I accept and understand that, due to his beliefs and wants, the Senator is not for abortion. Personally, I would never want to have an abortion, but I am for choice. We have to have some care and understanding for what goes on inside these buildings, what heartache and agony there is. If we do not allow space in modern Ireland for someone to grieve, for someone to breathe, for someone to leave a healthcare provider in peace, then, God, where are we going? The Senator speaks about care for the mother and not wanting to delete the mother from the Constitution, yet we do not want to have respect for a caring mother, we do not want to give that mother and father breathing space. I can tell you, Senator Mullen, if I had to be confronted by someone outside reminding me about the loss of my baby, it would have thrown me over the edge. I was in and out of the Coombe four times because of it. It was desperate. To be confronted by that – by protestors or by peaceful whatever you want to describe it as – would really have thrown me over the edge. I was at rock bottom. I did not want to live. It was only my family and my children that brought me out of that. We need to have an understanding of that. It is not about denying people their free speech. It is not about that. It is about allowing people a free space to breathe, to grieve and just to live.