Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill Report Stage Resumed

I will speak to a number of the amendments in this grouping. Last night I mentioned a minor worry I had about the absence of the words “imminent nor inevitable” which were part of the original Supreme Court judgment. To me, this is the critical point of the legislation because it will have most application in practice. I am talking particularly about women with pre-existing medical conditions, or those who develop such medical conditions during pregnancy, such that the pregnancy poses a threat to the life of the mother. In the current situation many women, after consulting doctors, are given information that leads them to travel to England. Many of the women concerned are very sick and some are undergoing cancer treatment. My hope for the legislation is that the practice will stop because that is the intent of the legislation. The point of it is to give effect to the Supreme Court judgment in the X case. The Minister has said this is the intent of the legislation and clearly believes it is. If so, it should be included in it to provide clarity. Its whole purpose is to provide clarity. Why would we miss this opportunity?