At a Save the 8th press conference, Dr Patricia Casey says abortion is not treatment for mental health issues. Photo: Chai Brady Health Minister Simon Harris has been accused of indulging in a campaign of misinformation in relation to the forthcoming abortion referendum. Pro-life campaigners have also challenged Mr Harris to a debate on his proposed legislation that would permit abortion in some circumstances up to six months.
Campaign group Save the 8th said at a press conference on Tuesday that the minister should debate the heads of the bill directly, rather than “name calling through a press officer”.
The organisation pointed to several inconsistencies between the bill, and Minister Harris’s public statements about the bill. For example, Mr Harris has said that “late term abortions will be illegal”. However, there is no such prohibition on late term abortions in the heads of bill published by the Government.
Cases
Minister Harris has said that in cases where the foetus can survive outside the womb, the baby will be delivered. However, no such provision exists in his bill. Indeed, “termination of pregnancy” is defined in his bill as “termination of pregnancy means a medical procedure which is intended to end the life of the foetus”.
Also speaking at the Press Conference, consultant psychiatrist Prof. Patricia Casey said the proposal for abortion of a healthy baby on mental health grounds was “astonishing”.
She said: “I have studied this bill in detail now and its contents are astonishing. I have practiced in psychiatry for decades. The one thing I have learned in that time is that there is no such thing as a simple mental health issue. Everywhere abortion has been introduced on mental health grounds, it has led to abortion on demand. You cannot find one country in the world where this is not the case.”
General Practitioner Dr Maire Neasta NicGearailt said: “This is abortion on mental health grounds up to viability, and those mental health grounds are not defined.
“I challenge the Minister to outline what mental health conditions he believes require an abortion. It’s a simple question,” she said.