Last year there were 10,852 abortions in Ireland. The lives of 10,852 living human beings were ended last year as a result of the legislation that was passed a number of years ago. It is the highest figure on record. It is equivalent to 400 classrooms of children who are no longer with us as a result of that abortion law. It is absolutely heartbreaking. In all the politicking we see in this Chamber today on this issue, there is absolutely no recognition of the human cost or of the human devastation of thousands of lives lost annually. In 2018 there were 2,879 abortions and since that law was deregulated the number has surged. It has tripled in just seven years and yet there is no effort by the political establishment to understand why there is such a surge. There is no effort to ameliorate this awful human cost. So high is the abortion rate today that it is affecting the birth rate. It is not the only reason the birth rate is falling; the cost-of-living crisis, the housing crisis and the cost of childcare are all pushing down the birth rate, but you cannot have 10,852 abortions annually without impacting on the birth rate of a country. In 2009, there were 77,000 children born in Ireland; 54,000 were born in 2024. That is a startling collapse in the birth rate. The really shocking thing is that the lack of housing, the cost of living and the cost of childcare are not more to the fore in Sinn Féin's approach to this Dáil. Dozens of women gave birth last year while homeless. Thousands of couples are postponing having children or not having children at all, not because they do not want a family but because the policies of the Government make it so difficult for them to have one. What is the response of the political establishment? Three separate abortion Bills this year and it is only June. Sinn Féin experienced a collapse in support in recent years. It has become confused about where it stands in the political spectrum and is flip-flopping on a number of core values. This Bill is its effort to readjust itself in the political spectrum. It is more about political competition than about making an effort to deal with the bread-and-butter challenges families face. I say that because it is not based on evidence. Abortion is a massive decision and is irreversible. A child cannot be brought back after an abortion. It can lead to a lifetime of regret for mothers. For any big decision, a time of reflection is key. There are few elective procedures that can be done on the same day. You cannot have a mole removed, have cosmetic surgery or be sterilised without a period to wait and reflect. We know the three-day wait is working. How do we know this? This is key - it is because 10,000 mothers who attended their first abortion meeting simply did not attend the second. There are 10,000 children alive today as a result of the three-day wait. When the abortion review was discussed at the health committee, I asked the chair of the review a direct and important question: before recommending abolishing the three-day wait, had she spoken to one woman who went to the first abortion appointment, took three days to reflect, changed her mind and kept her baby? She admitted on the record of the committee she did not speak to one woman who availed of a three-day wait - an incredible admission. The Government report recommended a change in the law to get rid of the last remaining protection and nobody who authored that report sought to speak to one mother who availed of that reflection period. No author of the report took the time to speak to one of the thousands of children alive today and ask their view of the reflection period. There are thousands of children alive, some sitting around family tables, some playing in their gardens or simply laughing to cartoons on television, as a result of this law, yet it is Sinn Féin's objective to get rid of it. It is an incredible situation. Have members of the Sinn Féin front bench spoken to any of these mothers or children? I received an email today. I am sure the other Deputies got it too. It is one of many I have received on this issue. It concerned an individual who accompanied her friend to an abortion appointment in 2022. Her friend, who had just found out she was pregnant, was adamant she wanted an abortion and very likely would have taken an abortion pill then and there if it was offered to her. By the time the three-day wait had elapsed, she had changed her mind, having received support from her friends and got over the initial shock of being pregnant. Today, according to that email, the woman often remarks that she cannot imagine her life without her son. The person sending the email questioned why Sinn Féin was pushing for the three-day wait to be abolished and why it was doing it without consulting the people it had affected. Listening to local and national news stations, I can tell many people are disappointed with Sinn Féin using its chance to speak today not to tackle the cost-of-living crisis or the cost-of-childcare crisis but to push for more abortions. There is no desire for this change; it is not being raised at the doors. There are no petitions, protests or email campaigns. In fact, it is the opposite - many people are shocked and angry. It is no wonder they are shocked and angry because they were lied to right through the political debate. Simon Harris said in an interview in The Times in 2018 that the proposed legislation would allow women to access care on consultation with their doctor for up to 12 weeks only. He stated: "In this case, a three-day pause would be in place for women to access all information and counselling and make a considered decision.” That is what the leader of the Minister of State's party said. Simon Harris could see in 2018 there was a need for a woman to access information and counselling ahead of a life-changing decision, one we all recognise has a heavy physical and mental weight. The Tánaiste knew this pause was required to make a considered decision that was irreversible. Why is the Tánaiste now removing that considered decision? What happens when any of us is rushed, during a crisis situation, into an ill-considered and irreversible decision? Simon Harris also said three days must elapse between certification and the procedure being carried out, that this provision was not unusual and that several countries in Europe, including Belgium and Germany, had similar provisions. That is the leader of the Minister of State's political party. The Taoiseach, from Fianna Fáil, said clear commitments were given during that campaign for a framework for the facilitation of this. As we went door to door, we spoke of the framework for the referendum and the three-day wait period. When you have a referendum, it is necessary to fulfil those commitments. The two leaders of the Government are supporting this. I am not particularly surprised we have a flip-flop from Simon Harris, or even Micheál Martin, on this - two TDs on the record as stating in this Chamber they fully recognise an unborn child is a living human being. When the media and political winds changed, they voted for abortion. A simple case of "These are my principles and if you don't like them, I have others". Many people, including a large number who voted for repeal, are disgusted at being duped by the political establishment in relation to this. It will be interesting to see how the vote is carried out. Tomorrow there will be a free vote in Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and maybe some of the other parties. Sinn Féin will not have a free vote on this - probably the only mainstream political party in western Europe and north America to enforce a whip on this issue. There are TDs in Sinn Féin today who are against this and they will have to vote against their conscience, their better judgment and the evidence if they want to remain in that party. I believe that is wrong. Those individuals should have the opportunity to vote in the direction they want to. The right to life is a human right. It is the most important human right we have. No other right - the right to free speech, the right to assemble - can be guaranteed without the right to life. If you take the right to life off any human being, that is a major challenge to all the rest of their human rights. The definition of a human right is that it is universal. It applies to all humans and if an unborn child is not a human being, what species is the unborn child? It is really important that we have a time for reflection ourselves in Leinster House. We have to remember, first of all, what we need to do in relation to giving mothers across this country the economic confidence to be able to raise their families. We have to look at the evidence of this committee, a committee that completely ignored the 10,000 women who did not attend the second abortion meeting and the thousands of children who are alive today as a result of it. We also have to look to the clear commitment that was made right across this Chamber in relation to that legislation and ask ourselves is this what we are saying to the people of Ireland - "Vote for this and in a few years, we will radically change it." I would implore any of the TDs opposite, who have a free vote and who can exercise their judgment on this issue, to make sure that one of the last protections that exists in this State in terms of the most vulnerable is protected.

Sentiment score: 0.01

There is no need. The TDs are on the same side.

Sentiment score: -0.15