'Psychiatrists won't be fooled by women claiming to be suicidal'
The President of the College of Psychiatrists in Ireland says he and his colleagues will not be fooled by women claiming to be suicidal to get an abortion.
Dr Anthony McCarthy is appearing before the Oireachtas Committee examining the proposed abortion laws.
The psychiatrists are divided on whether the provision should be made for a termination on the basis the woman is suicidal.
Some say the legislation will save lives, but others have told the committee that women will need professional help and not the termination of her pregnancy.
Dr McCarthy says the notion they will be fooled by women pretending to be suicidal is wrong.
"We're used to dealing with people who put us under all sorts of stress.
"We’re used to being under pressure. That may seem like a job most people wouldn't like, but I love my job.
"It's very complex, but it is also very human. We're aware of the complexities and the interactions. We're not naïve."
John Sheehan, a perinatal psychiatrist at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, suggested changes to Ireland’s strict abortion laws could lead to unnecessary terminations.
“In practice, it would be impossible for any psychiatrist to accurately predict which woman will die by suicide in pregnancy,” Dr Sheehan said.
“Being unable to predict who will die by suicide is likely to lead to multiple ’false positives’. As psychiatrists, we are trained to assess and treat, not to predict the future.”
Dr Sheehan was among a string of psychiatrists to give evidence on the proposed legislation which, if enacted, will legalise abortion if there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother, including the threat of suicide.
As the second day of public hearings on the Protection of Life during Pregnancy Bill 2013 got under way, Dr Sheehan warned the legislation would have “major implications” for psychiatrists.
A panel of two psychiatrists and an obstetrician/gynaecologist will be required to determine whether a pregnant woman with suicidal ideation is at real risk of killing herself to find grounds for an abortion under the proposed changes to the law.
The bill aims to legislate for the 1992 X case judgment from Ireland’s 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 loosening of the rules is also intended to meet requirements from a European court decision that found a woman in remission from cancer should not have been forced to travel oversees for a termination.
