Govt braced for tough debate on draft abortion laws

In order for an abortion to be granted on the grounds of suicide risk, an obstetrician or gynaecologist and two psychiatrists must reach a unanimous decision.

Under the long-awaited Protection of Maternal Life Bill published late last night, a woman can appeal against refusal of the procedure to another panel of the same standing.

The proposed laws are designed to live up to the 1992 X case judgment from the Supreme Court which found abortion is legal if there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother, including the threat of suicide. The case was taken by a 14-year-old rape victim who became pregnant and was refused permission to travel for an abortion.

The Government said the reforms were designed to provide legal clarity.

“The proposed legislation sets out a clear legal framework for women and for medical practitioners in Ireland,” it said.

“It will provide legal clarity for the medical profession of the circumstances where a medical termination is permissible where there is a real and substantial risk to the life, as distinct from the health, of a woman as a result of a pregnancy.”

The current Fine Gael-Labour coalition is the first government to attempt to legislate in line with the 21-year-old X case ruling.

As well as that judgment, the loosening of rules is intended to meet requirements from a European court decision that found a woman in remission from cancer should not have been forced to travel overseas for an abortion.

The pressure for reform went worldwide and action was forced following the death of Indian dentist Savita Halappanavar in a Galway hospital last autumn after she died from sepsis several days after being denied a termination during miscarriage.

There is also a provision in the bill for two doctors to decide if a woman needs an abortion due to a risk to her life on medical grounds.

Under the regime regarding suicide, a woman will not have to be assessed in person by all the consultants. Each case can be reviewed from medical notes and in discussion.

Ultimately it states that it will be the woman’s decision whether to go ahead with a termination.

The proposals say that at least one doctor will consult the woman’s GP and an appeal must be convened within one week of an initial refusal to terminate.

No doctor who has been involved in the initial decision making can review the same case, the bill states.

But the reform is expected to come up against fierce opposition from the pro-life movement, some Fine Gael backbenchers and also psychiatrists who do not accept abortion should be offered to suicidal pregnant women.

Backbench Fine Gael TD Brian Walsh has said he will vote against the legislation while several others, including junior minister Lucinda Creighton, have expressed grave reservations about abortion reform.

Also in the bill, rules on the decision making process state that the obstetrician or gynaecologist deciding the initial request must be employed in the hospital where the woman is being treated. The psychiatrists must work at a centre registered by the Mental Health Commission, one of whom must be attached to an institution where a termination can be carried out.

The psychiatrists must also work at an in-patient centre caring for patients suffering from mental Illness or mental disorder.

The review doctors will have to be affiliated to Ireland’s Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, Irish College of Psychiatry, Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland or Royal College of Physicians of Ireland in order to make the final decision.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said he remains hopeful the new laws will come into effect before the Dáil breaks for the summer in July.

The proposals will be considered by a Dáil committee on health, with a private meeting scheduled for tomorrow to draw up a list of medical, psychiatric and legal experts to question.