O’Mahony undecided about final abortion vote

O’Mahony undecided about abortion vote


Áine Ryan

DEPUTY John O’Mahony will only vote for the abortion legislation if he is satisfied it will give more protection to  the lives of mothers and unborn babies. The Fine Gael TD was speaking to The Mayo News en route to the DΡil yesterday, where he was due to speak during the second stage debate on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill.
Mr O’Mahony said by deferring his decision on whether to support or oppose the legislation  he was endeavouring to influence amendments to the legislation as much as possible.   
“I want to influence the wording of this Bill right up to the end. After Peter Mathews  proposed a free vote, I proposed to the Fine Gael parliamentary party that individual deputies who have difficulty with it would continue to meet with the Minister for Health and others to inform ourselves right up to the final stage,” John O’Mahony explained.  He said he had already met Minster Reilly, the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny and the Attorney General, MΡire Whelan where some of his questions were answered and clarified but others raised.  

Concerns expressed
“Ultimately, if I can, in conscience, make a decision that both the mother and the unborn baby is more protected by this legislation I will vote for it,” John O’Mahony said.
Meanwhile, constituency colleague, Deputy Michelle Mulherin, a solicitor,  told The Mayo News yesterday that she ‘has concerns that some assurances given about the restrictive nature of this Bill, as drafted, are legally binding’.
She confirmed she had already expressed her concerns to Minister Reilly and was awaiting clarification on issues raised.
She is also waiting on a meeting with Taoiseach, Enda Kenny, she said.
“There is part of this Bill I welcome very much in that it seeks to bring a formal process for a pregnant woman to invoke when her life is at risk owing to a physical threat,” Ms Mulherin said.
She agreed  that while ‘the legislation creates a broad framework’ there is need for deputies to be briefed about promised regulations that will explicate its restrictiveness.
“At the moment for me there is too much up-in-the-air and I am waiting to see the regulations in a comprehensive response from the minister and the Taoiseach, ” she said.
Ms Mulherin said that among the many issues she was concerned about were: term limits, the suicide clause and the objectivity of medical practitioners.

Debate on Bill
YESTERDAY’S debate was the final day ahead of the first vote on the legislation, which is expected to take place this evening (Tuesday). At the time of going to Press, four Fine Gael TDs – Peter Mathews, Brian Walsh, Billy Timmins and Terence Flanagan — had confirmed their opposition to the Bill, thus losing the party whip.  
During her DΡil speech yesterday Minister for European Affairs Lucinda Creighton has appealed to the Government to accept ‘substantive amendments’ to the Bill. Ms Creighton said she will vote with her conscience on the bill and that her  personal view was that all she could do when making a decision on “life and death” is consult her conscience.
Ms Creighton criticised the inclusion of the suicide clause and said it was bizarre that the bill contained no provision for legal representation for the unborn in cases of suicidal intent. It is expected that, like Deputy O’Mahony, she will for now support the legislation on the second stage, but her position on the final passage of the legislation will be subject to any amendments that might be made. Ms Mulherin would not be drawn on her final voting plans.
The final vote in the DΡil is due to take place in about a fortnight’s time, just before the summer recess.