Crisis pregnancy agency regulation
Brendan Howlin argued new protections were needed against rogue crisis pregnancy agencies and anti-abortion protests at healthcare centres. The Taoiseach said he would ask the Health Minister to reply directly.
In September 2016, I published a Bill to regulate rogue crisis pregnancy agencies. Yesterday, journalists Ellen Coyne and Katie O'Neill exposed how anti-abortion campaigners are planning to protest outside healthcare centres so the need for that legislation is underscored yet again. The Government published a Bill today to regulate health and social care professionals but it does not address this issue. As I have said repeatedly in the Chamber, women in crisis pregnancies are being abused by charlatans on occasion and we must protect them. I accept the bona fides of the Minister, Deputy Harris, and I accepted his assurance that he was moving to regulate this area. At a meeting on International Women's Day in 2017 officials from his Department gave the Labour Party a commitment that its Bill would be advanced before the summer of 2017. Where is the legislation? When will we have proper regulation of these agencies?
