‘Disappointment’ at claims Coombe will not be ready for abortion services
People would have to be “deaf, blind, dumb, and batty” to have been unaware of the proposed 12-week abortion limit before last May’s referendum, the Seanad has heard.
The Upper House has debated the legislation to allow for the roll-out of terminations, during which the issue of disability and the three-day mandatory waiting period were debated.
Speaking in the Seanad, Health Minister Simon Harris expressed disappointment that the Master of the Coombe Maternity Hospital had said they would not be ready to introduce termination services next month.
“If everyone puts their shoulder to the wheel, we can make sure that services are in place in January, and of course they will take time to fully embed and evolve, but safe services can commence in the New Year,” he said.
Sharon Sheehan said that, with only 20 days left until the planned introduction of abortion services, the Coombe is “not ready”.
“In my opinion, the country is not ready, and therefore the Coombe is not in a position to deliver these services from the 1st of January,” Dr Sheehan told RTÉ.
Referring to the referendum campaign, Mr Harris said he was “concerned” at the implication that the Eighth Amendment was the only reason some children with a disability were born in Ireland.
Mr Harris was responding to an amendment around disability as a grounds for termination.
“We need to be very careful that we don’t suggest that anything that we do in here or anything we do in the Bunreacht would determine the decisions of those parents,” he said.
“The bill does not provide for the carrying out of a termination on the basis of sex, race, or disability.
“The bill doesn’t mention hair colour but it’s not a ground for termination. By not including things in legislation we are excluding them. This bill sets out very clearly what is allowed and therefore what is not allowed is excluded and is illegal.”
Senator David Norris said the 12-week clause was “perfectly clear” prior to the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment.
“You would have to be deaf, blind, dumb, and batty not to know that this 12 weeks [was being proposed],” he said. “Everybody knew that is what they voted upon, I haven’t the slightest doubt.”
