Greg Daly
Dr Valerie Morris (left in red) Political efforts to make serious but non-fatal foetal conditions grounds for abortion need to be resisted, a spokesperson for Doctors for Life has said.
Commenting against a background of claims that the board of Dublin’s Coombe Hospital refused a woman an abortion despite two consultants having certified that her child had a fatal foetal abnormality, something the hospital has since denied, Dr Valerie Morris has said the child’s condition can be treated.
“It’s a condition where the abdominal muscles are not completely formed,” Dr Morris told The Irish Catholic.
“It’s not fatal,” she continued. “It’s a surgery that’s done in Crumlin, it’s done in Temple Street, it’s done in Great Ormond Street (in London). I read the statement that the hospital issued. It’s not fatal because it’s treatable.”
Abnormality
The hospital has issued a statement pointing out that the child’s abnormality was not likely to lead to death within 28 days of birth.
Solidarity TD Coppinger has described this as “the first test case for the new abortion legislation”, with People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith also raising the case.
Legislation
Identifying the episode as an attempt at shifting legislative goalposts, Dr Morris said that politicians “are trying to ensure that even things that are not fatal but congenital can be aborted”.
“It’s not what people voted for, it’s not in the legislation, and doctors need to fight hard to protect that,” she said. “This is a test case in more ways than one.”