While this Bill recognises the emotional loss of pregnancy, our criminal law does not yet recognise the legal loss of an unborn child when the loss is caused by violence. For some people, it is the loss of a life, while for others, it is the loss of a pregnancy and the loss of potential and possibility and a way of thinking of the future.
Assuming the appropriate legislative vehicle is identified, I support the premise of the Bill to introduce five days of paid leave to an employee who experiences pregnancy loss and two and a half days of paid leave to an employee who is parent to a pregnancy loss. It struck me when Senator Ryan said that miscarriage and pregnancy loss are the greatest cause of loss and grief and the least acknowledged.
Key terms by TF-IDF across 6,005 words from 17 speakers. The summary quotes the highest-scoring sentences verbatim — nothing is paraphrased.
Tellers: Tá, Senators Garret Ahearn and Paul Daly; Níl, Senators Nicole Ryan and Joanne Collins.
| Question | Result | Tá–Níl |
|---|---|---|
| Question put: | Carried | 32–19 |
Party shown is the one each member held on 2025-07-09, frozen by a dated join — not their party today. The Oireachtas API publishes no date of birth and returns an empty gender field for every member in this period, so no age or gender breakdown is shown.