I thank my colleagues in Sinn Féin for the Bill. At its heart, this legislation is about one simple principle, which is trusting women. The mandatory three-day waiting period does not provide care and it does not provide support. What it does is make women wait. It delays access to healthcare at what is already one of the most difficult moments in their lives. Do we really believe that women have not already thought long and hard about this decision before they walk through the door of a GP or consultant's office? It is not an easy decision and it is not one taken lightly. By the time a woman seeks an abortion, she has already gone through an agonising process of reflection and consideration. The State should not be in the business of imposing barriers based on an outdated notion that women cannot be trusted to make decisions about their own healthcare. For some women this delay can be particularly cruel. Think of those experiencing coercive control, women trapped in abusive relationships, and victims of domestic violence, rape and sexual assault. For these women every extra day can mean further distress and trauma. Imagine the courage it takes for a young woman who has been sexually abused to come forward to seek medical help and to make a decision about her future. The last thing she needs to be told is to go away and wait. We cannot justify forcing victims of rape, sexual assault and abuse to endure additional waiting periods that serve no medical purpose. There may also be women in situations of rape or sexual assault who find out late about their pregnancy due to the trauma they are enduring. Making them wait could mean them reliving the trauma for days more than they should. We all know that accessing a GP in a timely manner is becoming increasingly difficult. This also causes delays and anxiety. The mandatory waiting period does not ease this burden but prolongs it and extends the agony at a time when compassion should be the guiding light. We must also remember that some women could be going through this alone. The Bill does not require an abortion to take place at the first consultation. It does not remove the option of taking more time. Any woman who wishes to wait three days can still do so. This choice will remain entirely hers. What the Bill does is remove the mandatory wait. It removes the State-imposed delay and allows a woman, in consultation with her healthcare provider, to decide what is right for her and when. The legislation recognises a very simple truth, which is that women are capable of making decisions about their own lives and their own bodies. We said during the referendum campaign that we would trust women. If we meant these words, then we must mean it now. The question in the Bill is straight forward. It is whether or not we trust women. We have heard from countless women who have been forced to endure this waiting time. They have told us it did not change their minds and that it did not provide comfort or offer reassurance, it simply prolonged what was already a difficult experience. This legislation is not radical but it is compassionate and it gives women the respect they deserve.

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