I thank the Ceann Comhairle for giving me the opportunity to address this issue which is very important to many women and their families. The Minister for Health and Children knows of my interest in this matter as I have already put down a parliamentary question. I take this opportunity to shed some light on this very dark passage in our recent medical history.
The end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century will be remembered as a time when we in Ireland tried to confront and come to terms with the more brutal aspects of our emerging republic. Over the past decade we have shed some light on the secrets of the Catholic Church and the arrogance of the medical profession. This story, which involves so many women, is about that combination of the power of the Church and the arrogance of the medical profession.
It now appears that hundreds of Irish women, over at least a 20 year period, had to undergo this brutal, experimental operation. It has left many of them suffering permanent health problems. The operation, known as symphysiotomy, was carried out – as far as we can determine – in Dublin maternity hospitals between 1944 and 1964, and it could have gone on as late as 1975. Evidence is emerging which suggests it was also carried out in a number of Cork hospitals.
The operation – and the details are not for the squeamish – involved sawing through the woman's pelvis so that it opened like a hinge. International medical experts repeatedly criticised this practice. They stated that caesarean section should have been the preferred option for difficult pregnancies. Some Irish doctors persisted with symphysiotomy, because they apparently believed that women who underwent caesarean section would use contraception to avoid pregnancy. The use of contraception, of course, conflicted with the prevailing Catholic ethos.
These claims are made by a UCD researcher, Ms Jacqueline Morrissey. Most of these procedures took place in Holles Street and the Coombe hospitals and there is now a claim that some took place in the Rotunda. Some in the medical profession are now seeking to justify this practice by claiming that caesarean sections were not safe at that time. Ms Morrissey has discovered a letter from one of the most enthusiastic advocates of symphysiotomy, Doctor Alex Spain, which states that caesarean sections were safe. He added:
It will, however be a long time before such a method of delivery will be accepted by the profession or by the community at large . . . The result will be contraception, the mutilating operation of sterilisation and marital difficulty.
It is clear therefore, that Catholic dogma was dictating medical practice at this time, even if the consequences for women were extremely painful.
The reason I am raising this is that it affects directly one of my constituents, Mrs. Matilda Behan from Ringsend, who has gone public on the issue. She has suffered hugely since then and is now on six painkillers. She has had absolutely no compensation. What has the Department done about this? They say they have started an investigation. How long will this investigation take? Why did they not adopt a monitoring role at the time to prevent this brutal practice? I want answers and so do the women who have suffered.
