I welcome the opportunity to contribute to this debate. This is an issue that evokes deeply held and personal views across Irish society and it is important that we approach it with sensitivity, compassion and respect for differing opinions. There will be strongly held views expressed in this debate, and I respect that. However, I believe as legislators that we have a responsibility to carefully consider the evidence presented in the comprehensive and evidence-based O'Shea report, the improvements made since the report, and the lived experiences of women, families and clinicians. While aspects of this Bill may require amendment and careful scrutiny, I believe that the essence of what it seeks to address deserves debate and consideration by this House and the health committee. I say that for the following three reasons. First, this is fundamentally about women's healthcare. We know there are women in Ireland who are still being forced to travel abroad for care in cases involving fatal foetal abnormalities because clinicians cannot provide certainty within the narrow legal definitions contained in the 2018 Act. As a mum to two daughters, I do not believe that compassionate care should stop at the airport gate. Second, the O'Shea report concluded that aspects of the law were not operating as intended and were causing real distress to women and clinicians. Third, the O'Shea report questioned whether the mandatory three-day waiting period was evidence based and recommended that it be optional. Figures have been cited here today regarding women who did not proceed with a second appointment. However, it is important that we are careful and evidence-based in how we interpret those figures. We do not know why they did not proceed. It may be that they miscarried, travelled, exceeded gestational limits or experienced other barriers accessing care, and we know that those in coercive relationships and in the postcode lottery that our healthcare system is have unequal access to healthcare. That is why this issue warrants examination by the health committee and further examination by this House.

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