There has in the last six weeks been a considered and detailed debate and
discussion relating to Article 40.3.3 of the Constitution, the Supreme
Court judgement in the X case, the decision of the European Court of Human
Rights in the A,B,C case and the report of the Expert Group appointed to
make recommendations concerning the State’s compliance with the judgement
of the European Court. The tragic death of Savita Halappanavar and the
terrible and understandable distress of her husband and extended family
also came to public notice and there is presently awaited the report of the
independent review of the circumstances surrounding her death and the
outcome of the investigation to be conducted by HIQA as well as the
anticipated inquest to be conducted in the Coroners Court in the new year.
It is clearly the view of the majority of people in this State that the
Government should take the action necessary following on from the report of
the Expert Group so as to ensure that where there is a real and substantial
risk to the life of the mother a pregnancy can be terminated in this State
and that rules and procedures are in place that are clear to both medical
personnel and to pregnant women and their families. It is regrettable that
a minority of individuals are now reverting to the insensitive and
disgraceful tactics deployed by the fundamentalist bullyboys who targeted
both me and others in the early 1980s when, in advance of the 1983
referendum, I predicted many of the difficulties that have arisen as a
result of the incorporation of Article 40.3.3 into our Constitution.
As someone who has campaigned for many years for greater protection for
children, for reform of our child protection services, for a senior
Minister for Children in Government and for a Childrens Rights Amendment in
our Constitution I was appalled this morning to discover that, overnight,
posters have appeared in my constituency of Dublin South containing the
slogan
“EVERY CHILD MATTERS
EXCEPT TO ALAN SHATTER”
accompanied by an entirely outrageous and entirely inappropriate bloodied
photograph and with the additional slogan at the bottom
“STOP ABORTION”
The lack of humanity, insight and compassion of those responsible for these
posters is starkly illustrated by their positioning adjacent to Wesley
College school, close to where I live and their reported positioning
outside at least one creche in my constituency. The persons or
organisation responsible for these untruthful and illegal posters are
apparently too cowardly to include their identity on the posters. They also
have no concern for pregnant women who have tragically miscarried,
experienced still births or a pregnancy with a child suffering a fatal
foetal abnormality nor have they any concern for any mother whose pregnancy
had to be terminated where its continuation posed a real and substantial
threat to her life.
I appreciate that this is an emotional issue in respect of which people
have genuinely different views and many valid concerns. However, obscene
and targeted postering of this nature contributes nothing of value to
considered public discussion and debate on an issue that for too long
previous Governments have failed to comprehensively address.