Reproductive Rights (Amendment) Bill 2026: Second Stage [Private Members] Dail Éireann — 2026-05-13 ============================================================ Holly Cairns (SD), Cork South-West We all know that this law is causing harm, and we have a responsibility to change it. We know women are being hurt by the gaps in our legislation in maternity hospitals, on overnight ferries and in hotel rooms in England, far away from their loved ones. Everyone in this Chamber knows about it, and everyone in this Chamber needs to address that reality. We have heard repeated references today to caution, to limits and to concerns about changing the framework too much. There also needs to be caution about the harm caused by inaction, concern for the women who continue to fall through the cracks in this legislation, and limits to how long that evidence can be ignored, because none of these issues are new. The problems with the 28-day rule, the mandatory waiting period and the criminalisation of doctors were all identified years ago but nothing was done. There is a tendency, when abortion is discussed, for there to be an undercurrent of suspicion - suspicion that if barriers are removed, women and doctors simply could not be trusted. I was shocked today that the Minister for Health and Sinn Féin are in favour of criminalisation. When politicians create obstacles in abortion care, it is women who suffer. The continued existence of criminal penalties sends a message that abortion is something morally wrong, something dangerous, something outside the bounds of normal healthcare, and that affects how a service develops. It affects how clinicians feel about providing care. It affects stigma. It affects access. You cannot build a genuinely supportive healthcare system while simultaneously threatening doctors with a 14-year prison sentence. The World Health Organization is clear that it does not agree with this. People who fought for repeal will be stunned at the approach that Sinn Féin is taking. I am stunned too. Putting forward a proposal for the bare minimum - removing the three-day wait - Deputy Cullinane said that this strikes the right balance. I have to ask: for who? It is safe to say it is not the women who are forced to travel for a termination for medical reasons. Deputy Cullinane went as far as to say that our legislation lacks democratic legitimacy. That is an absolutely outrageous thing to say. It is based on an expert review of the law. Irish people expect a healthcare system based on science and compassion, not ideology and shame. The public also expects the Oireachtas to respond when flaws in the law become obvious. That is what this Bill seeks to do: to address clear and identifiable legislative gaps. That is why I am asking Members today not to shut down this debate on Second Stage. If Members believe that parts of this legislation can be strengthened, then come forward with amendments. If Members believe that safeguards should be clarified, make those arguments. However, refusing to even engage with reform when we already know the harm being caused is irresponsible. The women directly affected by these laws deserve better than that. They deserve a Dáil that will take this issue seriously because, at the end of the day, women will do what they need to do in order to access a termination. The question is whether we ensure they can do that safely in Ireland, or whether we continue to force them abroad; whether we listen to women who told us that the law failed them, or whether we choose to ignore them again. I encourage the Minister, if she means what she says, and if she actually wants something to change, to come forward with something concrete on what she would do about that. I would encourage a Committee Stage debate. --- Source: Houses of the Oireachtas. Licensed under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). The Official Report is revised after first publication; the fetch timestamp below identifies the version quoted. Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/dail/2026-05-13/debate/main Retrieved: 2026-09-14T01:01:03+00:00 Sitting date: 2026-05-13