Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 11 December 2013
196. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Health further to Parliamentary Question No. 203 of 27 November 2013, the reason his Department has ignored the suggestions provided (details supplied) at the Joint Committee on Health and Children hearings in May 2013; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53262/13]
View answerAs I stated before, the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 provides only for existing rights, i.e. within the Constitutional provisions and the Supreme Court judgment in the X case, and it does not confer any new substantive rights to a termination of pregnancy. One of the requirements for a medical procedure to be lawful under the Act in non-emergency circumstances is that, following certification, it must be carried out by an obstetrician on the Specialist Division of the Medical Council Register at an appropriate institution.
The training requirements for qualifying for such registration and the content of training programmes are a matter for the relevant training bodies, subject to approval by the Medical Council. The relevant training bodies may also wish to provide specific guidance for their members in relation to clinical care. As in all good medical practice, appropriate follow up should be offered to a patient following a medical procedure.
