I move:
That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 to provide for abortion on request prior to foetal viability; to abolish the 3 day waiting period for abortion on request; to allow for abortion on grounds of fatal foetal abnormality that are likely to lead to the death of the foetus either before or within a year of birth; to allow for abortion where there is a risk to the life, or of serious harm to the health, of the pregnant woman; and to decriminalise the provision of abortion.
This is the unfinished business of the great repeal movement that in 2018 challenged the Government, through one historic referendum, to give women the right to choose what to do with their bodies and their reproductive health. In moving this Bill, I remember those whose cases propelled many people in this country into action, and into campaigning and fighting, for that right to choose, namely, Savita Halappanavar and Miss X, who are just two in a litany of names and numbers that became synonymous with a cruel and punishing Ireland for women.
This Bill, like the repeal movement, insists that abortion is a health issue. This Bill supports the belief of the vast majority in this country that someone who needs abortion care should never have to travel abroad for such care.
Again in line with the beliefs of the majority in this country, it aims to ensure that abortion is treated like other medical procedures and that it is never a matter for criminal law. It aims to achieve full decriminalisation of abortion in line with the World Health Organization guidelines.
It will also see the removal of the mandatory three-day waiting period and 12-week gestational limit. Abortion is a health issue for women and the insertion of the three-day waiting period says to women that their decision to do what they want with their own bodies must be questioned, that the healthcare they are seeking access to is somehow different from care for other aspects of their health and that we are going to place obstacles and hurdles in their way. This suggests that there is something wrong with that choice. We totally reject that and the burden it places on women. We know that, in many places in this country, accessing abortion care or seeing a GP who will treat you is difficult if not impossible. When you get an appointment, take time off work and travel, you must then go away, think about it, consider your choice and make your way back again for the treatment you are entitled to. This Bill rejects that continuing heartbreak and trauma we are putting women through in the case of fatal foetal anomalies. Two out of every five women who need abortion care because of fatal foetal anomaly have to travel. The National Women's Council has done a great deal of research. Before I sum up, I will quote some of it. The research showed that, two weeks before the close of a public consultation, 71% agreed that abortion should be treated like any other medical procedure and that it should never be a matter for criminal law. That review still has not been published. We are about to close the Dáil today and it is pretty shameful the Minister for Health has not published the abortion review in time for this Dáil to consider it. The research also showed that it is absolutely critical that the Government listens to the lived experience of those accessing abortion care, recognises the barriers put in front of women and takes forward evidence and recommendations from people. There is no medical evidence to support the three-day waiting period. It was not recommended by the citizens' assembly or the Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution. It was inserted by the Cabinet. Research also shows that the overwhelming majority of people who have had to wait the three days found that it added stress and anxiety to their physical and mental health. They describe the wait as ridiculous, patronising, unnecessary and demeaning.
My last point relates to the issue of fatal foetal anomaly. It is heartbreaking to see hundreds of women having to travel to Britain since the law was introduced following repeal. In most cases, they must travel because medical practitioners cannot say for certain that a foetus with a fatal foetal anomaly will not live beyond 28 days. This Bill extends that period from 28 days to a year.
The details are in the Bill but, to summarise, it will provide abortion on request for fatal foetal anomaly, abolish the three-day waiting period and provide for abortion on grounds that are likely to lead to the death of the foetus either before or within a year. It will also allow for abortion where there is a risk to the life and health of the woman and entirely decriminalise the provision of abortion.
I commend the Bill to the House. I look forward to cross-party support because, when the review is published - shame on the Minister for not having published it before today - we will find that the evidence from those who have experienced abortion care is quite shocking compared with what the repeal the eighth campaign stood for and what the people of this country heroically voted for in light of what Savita and the other women I have mentioned, in whose name we passed a referendum to repeal the eighth amendment, went through.
