Bruton abortion view ‘not backed up by fact’
FG’s O’Connell in war of words with ex-taoiseach
OUTSPOKEN Fine Gael TD Kate O’Connell has become embroiled in a row with former taoiseach and party leader John Bruton over abortion, after accusing him of making a ‘sweeping statement not supported by fact’.
The south Dublin Dáil deputy added that ‘poorly informed statements could be debunked’ by the experts.
Ms O’Connell – who previously criticised Leo Varadkar supporters as ‘choirboys’ who were ‘singing for their supper’ – tweeted her disappointment in comments by the former Fine Gael leader, but added that she was ‘unsurprised’.
However, Mr Bruton responded last night, telling the Irish Daily Mail that abortion would not be confined to 12 weeks and that there was evidence that suggested that unborn babies ‘have nervous systems’. Controversy: Kate O’Connell
Mr Bruton had said, at the weekend, that people should be ‘proud’ of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution which prevents abortion.
He added that babies before birth can ‘feel’ and are already developing their strength.
Speaking after the ordination of Dermot Farrell as the new Bishop of Ossory on Sunday, he said: ‘To arbitrarily say that, after whatever number of weeks, it’s okay to suppress that life is just not in accordance with the values of charity towards the weak in our communities, that have exemplified the Irish over the last many centuries.
‘It’s true that we are probably one of the few countries in the world that has, in our Constitution, an express recognition of the right to life of the unborn child, but that’s something we should be proud of.’
Saying he would vote against repealing the Eighth, he added: ‘I think if you accept that a child, before birth, is human, then you have to ask yourself, as a human, does it have human rights?
‘If it is to have human rights, then surely the first right it must have is the right to life.’
In response, Ms O’Connell tweeted a link to Mr Bruton’s comments yesterday and said: ‘Disappointed, but unsurprised to read this today – but glad we asked experts, so that poorly informed statements could be debunked.’ She also included information about foetal development from leading medical experts, including Dr Peter Boylan, Dr Rhona Mahony and Professor Fergal Malone.
In a second tweet, in response to a user who asked what had disappointed her, she said it was his reference to ‘whatever number of weeks’ that disappointed her. She described it as a ‘sweeping statement not supported by fact’.
However, Mr Bruton responded to her criticism last night, telling the Mail of his fears over when abortion might be allowed.
He said: ‘Once the Eighth is repealed the Oireachtas can legislate for whatever it likes – and is not confined to 12 weeks at all.’ He added: ‘Unborn babies react to stimuli from a very early age, which suggests they can feel. Unborn babies have nervous systems and that suggests to me they have capacity to feel pain.
‘We should be very careful anyway before we deprive them of any legal protection at all.’
Debunk ‘poorly informed’ views