Go raibh maith agat, a LeasCheann Comhairle. Sinn Féin supports both the amendment and the motion.

It is hardly surprising that ethics and morality are at the heart of the debate. The guidelines that are the subject of the debate have yet to be tabled or discussed at the Health Committee.

The Assembly’s debate on abortion in 2000 was primarily about the Abortion Act 1967. At that time, my colleague Mary Nelis remarked that we need an:

“honest and reasoned debate on what is a tragic dilemma for women.” — [Official Report, Bound Volume 5, p221, col 2].

I concur with that.

The draft or proposed guidelines are a direct result of the Family Planning Association’s application for judicial review, which obliged the Department of Health to produce a set of guidelines which will protect staff. The guidelines are not about the extension of the British Abortion Act 1967. The Family Planning Association initiated the judicial review process because there were too many inconsistencies in the provision of abortion in the North of Ireland. Those inconsistencies resulted in many years of confusion about legal protection for professionals who might be asked to participate in an abortion which could be deemed illegal, and who might then be open to prosecution. The draft or proposed guidelines will address those issues, which, for many years, it has been easier and more comfortable to ignore.

The purpose of any guidelines must be to outline the law relating to the termination of pregnancy in the North. Sinn Féin is not in favour of abortion. It is against the extension of the British Abortion Act 1967 to the North of Ireland. We believe that all possible education and support services should be put in place to protect crisis pregnancies. Sinn Féin does not support any attempt to make abortion more widely available; however, it accepts that health professionals working in that field need to have clear guidance. My party has been consistent in its approach. When the abortion issue was discussed in the last Assembly, Sinn Féin placed on record its firm opposition to the extension to the North of the British Abortion Act 1967. Sinn Féin believes that this complex matter should be referred to the Health Committee.

Irish society has a responsibility to address the fact that between 5,000 and 10,000 women travel from every part of Ireland to Britain for abortions each year.

Sinn Féin’s view is that the way to tackle crisis pregnancies and abortions is through comprehensive sex education, full access to affordable childcare and comprehensive support services that include financial support for single parents.

My party opposes the attitudes and forces in society that pressure women to have abortions. Equally, my party opposes those who criminalise women who make that tough decision. In cases of rape, incest, sexual abuse or when a women’s life or health is in grave danger, Sinn Féin accepts that the final decision must rest with the woman.

My party supports the principle that there should not be any attempt to make abortion more widely available in the North. Guidelines should be discussed by the Health Committee in the first instance, a discussion that should be based on information and be within the parameters of current legislation. That position has guided my party’s attitude to the debate. Therefore, Sinn Féin will support the amendment and, indeed, the motion. Go raibh maith agat.