Joan Collins
Ceist:9. Deputy Joan Collins asked the Minister for Health if he will legislate for access to a termination of pregnancy here when a woman is diagnosed with a fatal foetal abnormality. [54012/13]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 18 December 2013
Ceisteanna (9)
Freagraí ó Béal (10 píosaí cainte)
When a woman finds herself pregnant, it can be a joyous and wonderful occasion. On the other hand, it can be sad and a bad situation for a woman or a couple, particularly those who find early in the pregnancy that their child has a fatal foetal abnormality. It is a dark place as we know from the stories couples and women affected told to us and the Minister. When the Minister met with them he gave them much sympathy. However, sympathy is not what they want. They want-----
Sorry, Deputy, you are way over time.
-----the Minister to introduce legislation to address this area.
It is a terrible tragedy for any couple which finds the chances of survival for their baby are not realistic.
The diagnosis of a fatal foetal abnormality has to be one of the worst pieces of news that any pregnant mother can get.
However, termination of pregnancy in Ireland is permitted only in very limited circumstances, that is, only if it is established, as a matter of probability, that there is a real and substantial risk to the life, as distinct from the health, of the mother and that this real and substantial risk can only be averted by the termination of her pregnancy. These are the X case criteria. The Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill 2013 was recently enacted, the purpose of which is to restate the general prohibition on abortion in Ireland while regulating access to lawful termination of pregnancy in accordance with the X case and the judgment of the European Court of Human rights in the A, B, and C v Ireland case, and also in accordance with the Constitution.
The purpose of the Act is not to confer new rights to termination of pregnancy, but only to provide for existing rights, that is, within the constitutional provisions and the Supreme Court judgment in the X case. Therefore, fatal foetal abnormalities are not covered in the Act as grounds for termination.
Officials in my Department have liaised with the HSE crisis pregnancy programme to facilitate a meeting with a group representing women who have received such a diagnosis in relation to relevant crisis pregnancy counselling and post-abortion counselling options currently available, and ways to improve the standard of service nationwide. This group has now made contact with the crisis pregnancy programme and they are due to meet shortly.
It is not acceptable that we are still sending women in this situation to other countries to terminate a fatal foetal abnormality. We know that these women are going to Europe to challenge this, because they feel that as the foetus cannot live outside the womb, it is not covered under the legislation to which the Minister refers. I do not think we should wait for Europe to tell us again to deal with issues related to the health of women. In the North, women have also come forward about the issue and the Assembly is examining whether its legislation can be changed, in order to support women who want a termination in their country. Rather than waiting for Europe to tell us what to do, the Minister should be investigating how we can bring legislation forward to deal with it.
I do not wish to be specious, but Europe did not tell us to change the law; Europe pointed out to us that we needed to clarify the law for women and for the practitioners who provide them the service. That was the purpose of the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Act 2013.
The best advice available to me on this issue, which is a very sensitive, sad and tragic situation, is that it would require a constitutional referendum to change the Constitution. Clearly, this is a very difficult area and the HSE is engaging with the pregnancy counselling agency on it.
I think it was the UN that issued a direction to Ireland to deal with the A, B, C and D cases. The D case certainly highlighted that we have to deal with the issue of fatal foetal abnormalities. Women have to go to court in Europe to deal with these health issues. They are not just about terminations; they are health issues for women. That is not acceptable. These women have approached the Minister already and have indicated where they could allow for termination of pregnancies for fatal foetal abnormalities through the Constitution, and I think we should be dealing with that.
I understand the Deputy's concerns. I met with the group representing women whose pregnancies have been found likely not to result in a baby that can survive. It is a very difficult issue and we will continue to meet with them to find the best solutions that we can under the current legislation.
I would like to ask a quick question on this. Can the Minister confirm if the Bill has now been introduced in full? Has it been enacted? Is it actually now in practice across the health services?
The Bill has not been commenced yet. The panels have been formed by the HSE and I hope to be able to do so by the end of the week.
Written Answers follow Adjournment.