Jerry Buttimer calls for abortion forum

An all-Ireland forum approach is needed to address the complex issues which arose from the High Court hearing into the tragic right-to-die case of a brain dead pregnant woman.

That is the view of the chairman of the Oireachtas health committee, Fine Gael TD Jerry Buttimer, who said such an approach, based on the public hearings process adopted by the Convention on the Constitution, would ensure views were heard in a mature and respectful way.

“What we had in this case was a set of very tragic circumstances and a family in grief,” he said.