June 10th, 1953:THE FALLOUT from the mother and child controversy in 1951 brought down a government and exposed the relationship between the Catholic Church and the State.
The fallout continued for years, not least when the succeeding Fianna Fáil government brought in a health Bill in 1953.
Fianna Fáil’s health minister, Dr James Ryan, found himself in a tetchy Dáil exchange with Fine Gael’s Patrick McGilligan, who accused him of seeking the right to compel doctors to give medical treatment contrary to their beliefs. He also accused taoiseach Éamon de Valera of suppressing a letter from the Catholic hierarchy which, he said, objected to the Bill. A report of the Dáil exchanges included the following:
[Mr McGilligan said] the hierarchy had objected to the fact that there was no safeguard in regard to the patient against his being compelled to accept treatment of a type prescribed by people who were imbued with materialistic principles and did not accept the true view in regard to the natural law . . .
Capt [Peadar] Cowan [Ind] said that the letter to the faithful was not on the record of the House and had not been published to the faithful. If the document had been stopped then surely the hierarchy would not want Deputy McGilligan to discuss it.
Deputy McGilligan’s conduct in the House to get in a letter which, as far as the people were concerned, did not exist, was filthy and reprehensible. His statement that the Taoiseach had crossed the Border [to see the cardinal in Armagh] to get the letter stopped was also filthy and reprehensible . . .
Dr Esmonde [FG] said that if they passed the piece of legislation, they passed over the control of the hospitals internally from a doctor to the Minister . . .
Dr Ryan said that no doctor could be compelled, under the Bill, to carry out any treatment he did not wish to carry out . . .
Mr McGilligan – Can he be ordered to carry out treatment?
Dr Ryan – The Deputy knows that is absurd . . .
Mr McGilligan said there was no safeguard provided in the Act. He had reference to a document which, he said, was written a few hours before the Taoiseach made his dash across the Border and that document said there was objection to the expansion of control by the State in the medical field . . . The speaker said that Mr McGilligan should give the source of the document from which he had quoted.
Mr McGilligan – It was issued by the hierarchy to the faithful, but it was suppressed. It was sent to four newspapers . . . but was never published. It was issued about 24 hours before the Taoiseach went across the Border . . . [McGilligan] could not give the document as the Government had stopped it. The Minister for Health knew that.
Dr Ryan – I know the Deputy has told a number of untruths.
Mr McGilligan – Will the Minister say that it is an untruth to state that the document was issued to four newspapers?
Dr Ryan – I am sick and tired of the whole damned thing. The good Catholics over there! My God! Look at them! Bloody frauds, the lot of them – bloody hypocrites!
Gen Mulcahy [FG] – Is it in order for the Minister to refer to the Opposition as “bloody hypocrites”?
The Speaker said he would ask the Minister to withdraw the expression.
Dr Ryan – I withdraw it.