Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I guess it depends on one's definition. I have rarely met anyone who is anti-life. Surrogacy creates more children, children who otherwise would not exist. It creates more mums and dads and creates more wonderful families - that is what it does.

While I have taken great exception to the Senator’s characterisation of the pro-life debate, I respect everyone's view on termination of pregnancy across the spectrum. I disagree strongly with the Senator on his characterisation of it but I fully respect everybody's position on that. I would have thought people who are vehemently opposed to termination of pregnancy, which is a position I do not share but I respect, would be in favour of more children, more life and more mums, more dads and more families. I would have thought that.

I appreciate there is an ideological position and I appreciate there are some religious institutions that have taken a very public view, and that is fine. Certainly, on the Senator’s direct questions, a transgender man or woman under this Bill will have the same rights as everybody else. Can a man raise children in a wonderful, caring and loving way? Yes, he can, and yes, they do, all the time, all over our country.

With surrogacy, there are safeguards that we have to put in place and that is what this Bill spends a lot of time doing. However, what an extraordinary and wonderful thing it is for one parent or two parents who have tried to conceive naturally and have not been able to. Maybe they have tried assisted human reproduction or gone through IVF and they will have practically bankrupted themselves just trying to have a child. They will have potentially gone through rounds of IVF, which is so difficult for them; it is so hard for people going through IVF. Having done all of that, they might still not have had a child. What an extraordinary gift surrogacy can be so that these incredible women and men can be incredible parents and raise the most wonderful, beautiful children. I hope that answers the questions.