Ruadhán Jones
TD Peadar Tóibín has criticised the Government for “dragging its feet” over a “black-and-white” case of injustice after a child was aborted last year following a false diagnosis.
In March last year, a family was told that their unborn child had a fatal foetal abnormality by a member of staff at the National Maternity Hospital.
The baby was aborted, but following enquiries from the mother, it was revealed that a further genetic test showed the diagnosis was false.
Efforts
Speaking in the Dáil on 17 September, Dep. Tóibín accused the State of stymying the efforts of the parents to achieve justice for their son.
“The hospital has not co-operated in an independent, fair investigation,” he said. “The previous Taoiseach, Deputy Varadkar, stonewalled me on a number of occasions when I tried to raise this issue.
“It is incredible that…no efforts have yet been made by the previous Minister for Health, the previous government or this Government to make sure that the family in question found justice.”
According to Dep. Tóibín, the false diagnosis was given to the child’s mother without fulfilling the necessary guidelines or adhering to the law. It is also alleged that medical professionals who were signing off on abortions have a commercial interest in the companies that produced the fatally insufficient test.
Investigation
Speaking to The Irish Catholic, the Meath TD said the situation is “unbelievable”.
“It’s so obviously black and white, wrong on many levels, not least in the law of the land as it stands,” he said. “What has to happen is a fully independent investigation. The people who carried out that wrong need to be held to account.
“It’s also an issue of public health because there is nothing stopping this from happening again – indeed, it may have happened since and families may not have known about it,” he added.