The Citizens’ Assembly has received 600 public submissions relating to abortion, ahead of its first discussion on the topic this weekend – some of which have come from abroad.
The assembly's 99 members drafted from the general public will convene in the Grand Hotel in Malahide for its first full-day meeting on Saturday, along with chairwoman Ms Justice Mary Laffoy, and there will be a further half-day session on Sunday.
The first four weekends of presentations and deliberations between November and March will focus solely on the topic of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which recognises “the right to life of the unborn, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother”.
The opening weekend will involve presentations from experts across the areas of law, clinical practice, ethics and crisis pregnancy services, in what is designed to be an exercise in informing assembly members of the State’s current legislation regarding abortion and how it operates.
The first three weekends will involve presentations followed by roundtable discussions and question and answer sessions with speakers.
There is also expected to be one, or possibly multiple, votes on the issue of the Eighth Amendment during the fourth weekend session in early March.
Room for manoeuvre
A spokeswoman for the secretariat of the assembly said there is room for manoeuvre in its nine-month schedule, meaning extra weeks may be allocated to certain topics if necessary.
Deliberations on other issues – such as Ireland’s ageing population, climate change and fixed-term parliaments – will adhere to a similar structure.
The spokeswoman confirmed that, to date, 600 submissions have been received which relate to the Eighth Amendment, with some containing personal testimony from women regarding their experiences of pregnancy and abortion.
The submissions will be presented to members of the assembly as they come in, and will be published on its dedicated website alongside speeches from presentations.
Although the exact schedule of speakers beyond the first weekend session has not yet been decided, it is envisaged that advocacy groups from either side of the abortion debate will make presentations.
Factual inaccuracies
When asked if the chairwoman will be able to intervene during presentations – to correct or challenge factual inaccuracies – the spokeswoman confirmed that it will be at the chairwoman’s discretion to interrupt speakers as she sees fit.
So far, 11 of the original 99 assembly members have dropped out due to a mix of personal reasons and scheduling conflicts, according to the secretariat.
Ms Justice Laffoy can call on a pool of 99 substitutes if withdrawals occur, however, the spokeswoman said that the chairwoman wants members to be “particularly committed” to seeing out deliberations on the Eighth Amendment in their entirety and eventually voting.
Members will be allowed to abstain from ballots, with Ms Justice Laffoy casting the deciding vote if a tie occurs.
The results will then be reflected in a report drafted by the assembly and sent on to the Oireachtas for its consideration next year.
Assembly members have been asked not to publicise their personal views on the topics being discussed outside of that forum, but the secretariat indicated that a decision on whether sanctions will be applied in this eventuality and the severity of sanctions has not been reached yet.
Watch their meeting live here.