The Chairman of the Labour Party, Colm Keaveney, has said that he will not support the abortion Bill if it comes before the Dáil in its current form.

Opposition to the Bill, coming from a senior member of the Labour party will have caused consternation amongst Fine Gael backbenchers already under pressure from constituents to oppose the measure, since the Labour Chairman spelled out the most dreadful elements of the Bill including late term abortion.

Colm Keaveney wrote in thejournal.ie

"This Bill has forced me to think through my position and having done so I find myself in a position of saying that if, when the Bill is initiated in the Dáil, it reflects the contents and detail of the Heads of Bill that were recently discussed before the Joint Committee on Health, then I will be unable to support it.

The main points of concern that I have with the Bill are mainly contained in Head 4 – those relating to the risk of loss of life from self-destruction, ie suicide. There are a number of grounds upon which my concerns rest.

The idea that a baby, as anticipated in the Heads of Bill, would be intentionally delivered prematurely, which would leave it at risk of disability, and placed in an incubator under the care of the State is seems somewhat dystopian to me. Minister of State, Alex White, confirmed this understanding during his closing remarks to the Health Committee on Tuesday evening. However, neither he nor the Minister for Health have been able to provide any detail about how the welfare of such infants would be secured, including their welfare into adulthood with any disability that may arise from such an early delivery as is envisaged by this legislation.

No limits on pregnancy stages
The above arises as the Bill does not impose any limits on up to what stage of pregnancy that a termination may be carried out. There is little to suggest that the Irish People would be willing to agree to late term terminations. These issues arise, in part, from the failure of the Heads of Bill to adequately balance the right to the life of the mother with that of the unborn as the Constitution appears to me to demand under Article 40. The Heads of Bill explicitly state that “the decision to be reached is not so much a balancing of the competing rights – rather, it is a clinical assessment”. Legislators, it should be noted, have a duty under Article 15 of the Constitution to not knowingly enact any law that would be repugnant to the Constitution.

Other concerns that I have with this Bill include the danger that this legislation may further normalise suicide as an option. This is at a time where this country is undergoing a suicide epidemic. We need to show some caution and understanding towards the potential effects that such normalisation may have. The provisions under Head 12 relating to conscientious objections need to be broadened so as to conform with human rights norms and I remain open to the question of extending conscientious objection to cover institutions as well as individuals.

The risk of suicide should not be included
There are substantial parts of the legislation that I would be happy to support if they had been presented as a separate piece of legislation. These include the proposed measures that deal with physical illness, including a medical emergency, but not including the risk of suicide, where the medical procedure concern is necessary to save the life of the mother from a real and substantial risk to her life.

However, any such procedures must conform to the ethical principle of double effect and take an adequate account of the equal rights of the unborn as per Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution. Legal clarity in this area is to be welcomed as medical professionals must be given clear legislative direction on these issues.

It is my hope that the Minister for Health will take the various testimonies that have been heard from witness before the Health Committee into account when drafting the Bill and that some of the concerns raised by myself and others will be taken into account.

This is not a Bill that Deputies would wish to look back on ten years from now with regret: by then it will be too late."

LINKS

• See the full article here: http://www.thejournal.ie/readme/column-i-have-always-considered-myself-pro-choice-but-i-cant-support-the-proposed-abortion-bill-924815-May2013/
• Meanwhile, the Independent reports that Micheál Martin has risked splitting Fianna Fáil because of his support for the proposal: http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/martin-could-lose-key-lieutenants-29297124.html