Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance)
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164. To ask the Minister for Health the proposals he intends to bring forward to deal with the ongoing intimidation of women and medical professionals outside health facilities by those opposing a woman's right to choose to terminate her pregnancy or avail of certain forms of reproductive healthcare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [17067/22]

Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Fianna Fail)
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I am committed to ensuring safe access to termination of pregnancy services, and the area remains an ongoing priority.

It is important that any legislative provisions are implementable and enforceable, and that they will stand up to any legal challenges that might be brought against them. It must also be ensured that they do not cause any unintentional consequences for existing public order laws.

While it was originally intended to provide for safe access to TOP services in the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, a number of complex legal and policy issues were identified during the drafting process which necessitated further deliberation and advice.

Substantial work has been done to move safe access forward. My Department has been actively engaging with key stakeholders, including with colleagues across Government Departments, to work through these challenges, refine the policy position, and explore the legislative options. In progressing this work, careful consideration is required of the need to balance various rights, provide for proportionate interventions and to ensure a robust legal framework is progressed. The issue of safe access to termination of pregnancy services is a priority area for my Department and the aim is to progress this issue as a soon as practicable.

Subject to Government approval, I plan to advance proposals for safe access on the Government's legislative programme for 2022.