Donohoe’s impassioned plea for Yes raises familiar questions

The political agenda is likely to be dominated by the forthcoming referendum on the Eighth Amendment for the next 10 days.

While a significant number of you were watching the Claire Byrne debate last night, Minister for Finance Paschal Donohoe was holding a meeting in Dublin Central seeking a Yes vote on May 25th. He was joined by Minister for Children Katherine Zappone.

Donohoe explained to the crowd how he reached the position of supporting the proposition being put to the people. It was two things, he said. The experience of a constituent and the realisation, he said, that women are being sent abroad to access healthcare and that girls across this country are using their smartphones to order pills online.

The second was his belief that the current law does not work for women. The Eighth Amendment was inserted into the Constitution to prevent abortion but it only served to make criminals of women who procured a termination, the Minister said.

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Donohoe also challenged the claims that politicians cannot be trusted. The electorate chooses the politicians, he said. Saying you do not trust politicians is really you saying you do not choose future generations of voters, he added. It is also accepting, the Minister said, that politicians in Westminster are choosing the circumstances in which Irish women can access abortions.

Despite his impassioned plea, the same questions that have dogged this debate arose. A GP from Glasnevin questioned if the primary care service was equipped to carry out abortion services or whether abortion clinics could be set up.While he was voting Yes, he raised concern about possible intimidation women may face when they attend their doctors to seek a termination of their pregnancy. He also wondered how doctors could justify prioritising pregnant women over their other patients.

Donohoe stressed financial resources would be made available and insisted doctors would be consulted before any new legislation is passed.

The next person was a young woman who was voting Yes. Her friends were concerned that the grounds of mental health would be abused to allow for a more liberal regime in Ireland. The comparisons to the UK were also raised.

She was told the comparisons to the UK did not stand up to scrutiny. Britain is an outlier in terms of its abortion regime and was not in sync with the majority of countries. Here the risk to the woman’s mental health must be causing demonstrable harm to allow a termination, she was told.

Her question was followed by a No voter. He wanted to know what Donohoe believed the definition of termination of a pregnancy was. To him, it was the destruction of the life of the unborn.

Donohoe responded. He did not believe a foetus of up to 12 weeks was comparable to the life of the woman. The constituent wanted support for pregnant women, not abortion.

The Minister for Finance was sorry the two had reached different positions. But he was clear that there was a balance to be achieved and his was a position was the right one for women.

This is, of course, a snap of the debate but it shows the same issues are being consistently raised. The fact they are still for discussion, 10 days away from the vote, shows a failure by those encouraging change to explain their message to voters and the impact of an effective campaign by the No side.

CervicalCheck

The fallout from the CervicalCheck controversy is also likely to dominate matters today.

This morning’s Cabinet meeting will hear proposals on the restoration of the HSE board and of plans to conduct a review of the current management system within the organisation to assess if it is fit for purpose.

As part of its first tasks, members will be asked to prioritise a full examination by the new Director General of the current senior management in the HSE - structure, responsibilities, capacity, skills and experience.

It will also oversee the development and implementation of an effective performance management and accountability system in the HSE within a set time period.

The proposals follow weeks of controversy over CervicalCheck and the failure to inform women of the results of a clinical review into their cases.

The Dáil will also debate proposals from Sinn Féin to introduce mandatory open disclosure in the health service. It is expected this will be supported by all parties but unfortunately, this is a step a few years too late.