The implications of pregnancy and the risk of the Zika virus for Irish women travelling to Brazil for the Olympics were raised in the Dáil throughout a heated debate on abortion.
In a row over referring the issue of repealing the Eighth Amendment to a citizens’ assembly, People Prior to Profit TD Bríd Smith asked Taoiseach Enda Kenny if he would certainly advise women checking out the Olympics not to grab pregnant as a result of the risk of the Zika virus, as the Brazilian government had advised women.
She added: “If they grab pregnant while in Brazil and go to risk of a deformed foetal abnormality, will certainly they return to Ireland to be told they cannot have actually medical treatment here?”
Mr Kenny said the Zika virus was not the just mosquito virus that could possibly induce difficulties. It was not for him or her to dispense advice. He said the decision to travel “is an option they need to make themselves”.
Assembly
The sharp exchanges emerged at Taoiseach’s questions. Mr Kenny had told the Dáil the assembly would certainly be set within 6 months. No politicians would certainly be involved and the Government would certainly not be under any type of obligation to accept the assembly’s recommendations.
He said it would certainly deal along with the repeal of the Eighth Amendment, fixed-term parliaments and whether “super-referendum” days need to be held, along with a substantial variety of referendums on the exact same day.
Socialist Celebration TD Ruth Coppinger asked exactly how the membership of the committee would certainly be chosen. “will certainly it have actually a majority of women of childbearing age to deliberate on this topic? will certainly there be any type of bishops or religious representatives in the assembly?”
She additionally questioned why the Taoiseach was “outsourcing” the issue.
Mr Kenny said it was concerning “the People of the country having an interest in matters of life and death”, including that the Constitution “belongs to the people”. He said it was “not real to claim that it is only, unfortunately women that have actually to contend along with crisis pregnancies that have actually an interest in this”.
Repeal
Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin said the Eighth Amendment “need to not be left to a citizens’ assembly at all”. And he said a “straightforward repeal is not an answer, in my view, since we still face the core issue of exactly what the law will certainly be”.
He asked if the assembly would certainly be “chosen by pollsters” along with a polling business “again being recruited to conduct an assessment of exactly what it thinks reflects a sample”.
Ms Smith said: “The crucial issue is a woman’s ideal to regulate her own body, and the men do not hope to face up to that”.
She said they heard the Constitution belonged to the people, that chosen exactly what went in and was taken out.
Challenging Mr Kenny and Mr Martin, she asked: “Does it every cross your minds that our physiques belong to us as women and that it is up to us to decide exactly what we do along with our bodies?” She asked exactly what Mr Kenny was afraid of concerning placing the issue of abortion to a referendum.
The Taoiseach said: “There need to be no demand we need to not consult a representative group of people.” The previous constitutional convention was earned up of “simple People from all of over the country based on geography, age, gender”.
