Micheál Martin ‘very open’ to recommendations to change Ireland’s abortion law

Tánaiste Micheál Martin has said he is “very open” to recommendations that have been made to change Ireland’s abortion law.

However, the Fianna Fáil leader has also said his “overriding concern” is that certain arguments and a set of criteria were put before the people when they voted on the referendum on the Eighth Amendment.

Mr Martin told the Dáil on Thursday that termination and early pregnancy services are being provided in 17 maternity hospitals out of 19, which was a “significant addition” to a year ago, while the remaining two will come on stream in 2024.

Barrister Marie O’Shea was appointed to review the adequacy of termination laws in Ireland, and delivered her final report in April which was then brought to Cabinet.

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It recommended widespread changes, including the decriminalisation of doctors, the removal of the mandatory three-day waiting period to access termination medication, new guidelines on conscientious objection and the reconsideration of the rules around accessing an abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormality.

The Oireachtas Health Committee examined the proposed legislative changes and has produced its own report with recommendations.

Mr Martin said he was “very open” to the recommendations that had come from both Ms O’Shea’s review and the Oireachtas committee’s report and the Government would give them “very serious consideration”.

“My overriding concern is that the referendum that the people passed, and there was a set of criteria, conditions put before the people, both the referendum itself and the legislation, including the review,” he said.

“We can’t dismiss the fact that we put certain arguments before the people at a given time, not so long ago, and people voted on the basis of those arguments.”

Mr Martin said he believed Taoiseach Leo Varadkar had made a similar point, which was “valid”.

“That said, the review was also contained within the [Termination of Pregnancy] Act,” he added. “We’ve had the review now and we will act on the review and Government will give that active consideration.”

The Tánaiste also said that a draft implementation action plan had been developed regarding the review’s operational recommendations, with “significant progress” made.

Mr Martin was responding to Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns, who said it was seven months since Ms O’Shea had published her review and that current legislation was “failing women in numerous ways”.

Ms Cairns said the Oireachtas Health Committee was about to recommend that all of the legislative changes proposed in the review are implemented without delay. “The question for the Government now is will you act on those recommendations or not,” she said.

People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith told the Dáil on Wednesday that she had spoken to a couple from her constituency of Dublin South Central, who have a diagnosis at 22 weeks of a fatal foetal anomaly and were refused a termination.

The Termination of Pregnancy Act, which came into effect on January 1st, 2019, provides abortion without restriction up to 12 weeks’ gestation, subject to a three-day waiting period.

Terminations are also permitted after 12 weeks if there is a risk to the life or health of the mother or in cases where it is judged the foetus will die before, or within, 28 days of birth.

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