Sir, – The Irish Times reported on November 22nd, 2023, that the Oireachtas Health Committee was due to approve the recommendations made by the abortion review “as an overall package” in its final report to Cabinet (Jennifer Bray, News, “Committee poised to back abortion law changes”).
However, the actual report, issued quietly by the Oireachtas Health Committee in December 2023, contained some important criticisms made by members of the committee on details of the abortion review.
Specifically, some members expressed disquiet about its proposal to scrap the life-saving three-day waiting period, finding that the review had made such a proposal without having used or conducted sufficiently compelling evidence. It was further felt by some members of the Oireachtas Health Committee that to approve the abortion review’s recommendations, which were described in April as “sweeping changes”, would be “a substantial departure from the proposals presented to the electorate before the May 2018 referendum”.
Both criticisms are completely valid.
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The Government made a firm contract with the electorate in the run-up to the 2018 referendum in the form of presenting draft heads of Bill for a prospective abortion law if article 40.3.3. was removed.
The review is now essentially recognised by a portion of the Oireachtas Health Committee as a proposal that would totally undermine the promises of the 2018 referendum.
These substantial and critical differences between the draft which was leaked to the media and the final version clearly illuminates considerable discomfort among members of the health committee about blindly signing off on the three-year review’s extreme proposals.
The Government must take note of the concerns contained in the Oireachtas Health Committee’s report and shelve any plans to adopt more extreme laws. – Yours, etc,
EILÍS MULROY,
Pro Life Campaign,
Dublin 2.