WRONG PRIORITY

As ministers hold crisis talks on abortion, the focus is not on an agreement that is safest for women, but a solution that is safest politically, says political correspondent Mary Regan

AFTER six side-stepping governments and more than two decades of procrastination, the women of Ireland could have been forgiven for expecting that some clarity to confused abortion laws was finally in sight.

But as ministers hold crisis meetings this week to try to hammer out a compromised piece of legislation, it seems this administration is still a far way from achieving finality on the issue.

Again, what our leaders are focusing on is not just an agreement on what is safest for the health of Irish women, but — first and foremost — a solution that is safest politically.

At issue in these talks is the need for Fine Gael to limit the potential loss of its TDs when the laws finally come before the Dáil, while doing enough to avoid a fatal rift with its coalition partners.

Also at issue is Labour’s need to appear it can fulfil its pre-election promise to legislate for the X case ruling and show it is not being walked all over by Fine Gael.

While neither would like to admit it, both sides are playing shrewd political games with what is a very sensitive issue.

The two parties had hoped to reach a position that could be tabled in the draft heads of the bill at last Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.

But this did not happen and their disagreements have been played out public — with a near frenzy over a proposal that six medical experts should examine whether or not a pregnant woman seeking a termination was suicidal.

The Fine Gael leadership tabled such a proposal in the hope that it would be enough to allay the fears of their more conservative TDs and senators — who are opposed to including suicide grounds in the legislation — that any such provision would be extremely restrictive.

The Labour side, suspicious, views the requirement as a roundabout way of excluding the suicide grounds from the legislation by building up an unpassable barrier for women seeking a termination if they have suicidal tendencies.

They believe the panel of six will keep the status quo that most women will just travel to England — a process far easier than having the veracity of your claims scrutinised by a panel of medics.

Following a tense few days, things calmed slightly yesterday as both parties settled down to tough talking with the aim of finding a solution. Following talks yesterday morning, Labour’s Alex White, the junior health minister, said progress was being made. But it remains to be seen how much.

Since the possibility of six experts was first leaked to the media, medical experts have lined up to give their views on the issue

The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland publicly insisted that any such proposal was abusive and unworkable from their perspective.

Its president, Dr Anthony McCarthy, said: “The idea that we as psychiatrists would collaborate, in sitting in on panels of maybe three, or four series of three, judging women in that way, completely losing our professionalism as people who treat and assess women by somehowbecoming judges — psychiatrists would not be prepared to collude with that.”

The master of the National Maternity Hospital, Dr Rhona Mahony, said the idea that a pregnant woman should be seen by a succession of doctors was not workable and “not humane”.

She said that in cases where a pregnant woman was genuinely suicidal, they should be assessed by two psychiatrists, backed up by a review panel.

Tensions emerged, not only between Fine Gael and Labour, but also within Fine Gael with a number of TDs, including junior minister Lucinda Creighton, becoming more entrenched in their views that suicide should not be included in the legislation.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny was said to have kept a level head in Wednesday night’s meeting of the parliamentary party. Amid heated and angry exchanges, he read out the Government’s statement from last December saying it would introduce laws to give effect to the X case.

At its weekly meeting, Labour TDs expressed concern about the level of engagement that its junior minister in the Department of Health had in the drafting of the legislation. Kathleen Lynch was said to have been privately angry with a claim by sources close to Health Minister James Reilly that she and fellow junior minister Alex White were involved in the preparation of the bill.

It has been confirmed that Ms Lynch attended three meetings to discuss the preparation of the laws as part of the department’s oversight committee on the issue — on Jan 29, Feb 5, and Feb 19. Mr White also attended these meetings, and two others on Jan 24 and Feb 5.

But there was no further consultation and Labour sources insist that neither of them were informed of the six experts proposal until late last week.

The only draft of the legislation which has been publicly reported on states that a panel of three — including two psychiatrists and one obstetrician — should assess the risk of suicide. This is in line with what was recommended by the expert group set up to examine the issue, which reported to the Government at the end of last year.

But the draft goes further and says the decision by the panel of three must then be reviewed by another three and “certified that they are of the same opinion”.

Whether or not this is interpreted as a panel of six assessing a woman’s risk — as Labour claims — or a panel of three with the normal review process — as Fine Gael claims — is the focal point of the discussions.

Negotiations are believed to have centred on the need for the extra three experts to certify the opinion of the first three. And at this stage, it is still not certain that both sides can bridge the gap ahead of next Tuesday’s cabinet meeting — despite a determination to do so.

Mr White said yesterday that the laws would be “quite restrictive” in an indication that Labour TDs were being prepared to accept the panel of three.

If the draft heads of the bill are not agreed next week, the target of having the legislation enacted before the Dáil breaks for the summer, will be harder to reach.

Last July, Dr Reilly said six governments had shirked the responsibility of dealing with abortion but this one would not.

However, while it is not shirking the task, and at least has the express intention of dealing with the issue, this Coalition is finding it hard to do so in a way that will not result in any political casualties.

And while it tries to find the safest way possible for their own political skins, women will just have to wait another while before their safety is finally a priority.