Legislation divide

HALF of Clare County Councillors believe the introduction of abortion legislation will reduce the likelihood of the death of a pregnant woman from a medical complication.
Councillor Brian Meaney cited the public outcry in the wake of the death of Savita Halappanavar as the main reason why the Government finally decided to introduce legislation following rulings from the Supreme Court and the European Court of Justice.
While Councillor Meaney believes it is impossible to legislate for every medical complication, he said the new legislation will provide more legal clarity and protection for doctors.
Councillor Curtin believes the legislation should reduce the possibility of a similar case. Councillors Bill Slattery, Brian Meaney, Pascal Fitzgerald, PJ Ryan, Oliver Garry, James Breen, Tony Mulqueen and Pat Burke are reasonably confident the new legislation will make a difference if a similar case arises, while Councillors Richard Nagle, Joe Cooney and Tony Mulqueen hope it will make a difference.
Councillor Joe Arkins, who has major misgivings about the use of suicide-risk as a means for having an abortion, believes that if Ms Halapannavar’s case was handled differently, she could still be alive.
Councillor Patricia McCarthy said it is impossible to introduce legislation that would cover every eventuality and noted medical errors will always occur.
Councillors Pat Keane, Tom McNamara, Bill Chambers, Gerry Flynn and Johnny Flynn stated it wouldn’t make a major difference because of the medical errors that contributed to Ms Halapannavar’s death.