Over the past decade a radical active women's movement has made huge gains, forcing conservative governments here and in several Latin American countries, where historically the Catholic Church has also been dominant, finally to provide abortion rights. Now there seems to be a growing backlash against the rights women have won, with all of the misogyny around the issue following the US Supreme Court's appalling decision to reverse Roe v. Wade.

This is triggering abortion bans in many US states. Of course, we know that banning abortion does not stop abortion. It only drives it underground and hurts the poorer and most marginalised the most. I will quote the Minister of Justice as reported in the papers today:

There is just this feeling, whatever about Roe V Wade ... there is a feeling of going back a little, so it’s important to push back.

The best defence for the right of women to choose is to push forward. Rights for women, in particular, can never be taken for granted. The conservative religious right in all countries will always try to take over and take back those hard-won rights. We need the promised review of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, the holding of which has been committed to this year.

What will the Taoiseach's Government do to push back against the backlash against women's and trans rights so they cannot be undermined in future? Will he commit to abolishing the three-day wait which was put into the law as a sop to those types who rejoice over Roe v. Wade? Will he commit to abolishing the 12-week limit and to full decriminalisation of abortion in this country so women and pregnant people can be guaranteed the very basic right to control their own bodies? Is it not time, Taoiseach, to say "our bodies, our choice"?

I put this in the context of the recent report which showed that from 2019, the year we passed the law, over 770 women had to leave this jurisdiction again to travel to the UK for abortion. We also had the scandalous situation in Northern Ireland where the health Minister, Robin Swann, allowed for the laws that apply in Britain to apply in the North, but there is still not a single abortion provision in the northern state to this date. We face a very dangerous situation. It is hugely important that we give a lead in this. The Taoiseach's Government has to show it is willing to push back to defend the hard-won rights for which women have fought for decades in this country.

We would like to know when the review will take place, that abortion will be fully decriminalised, that there will be a review on the three-day limit and that the 12-week limit will also be lifted. These are very important issues for women and trans people across this country and we have already seen protests emerging on the streets again. This will not go away. It is very important that this Government, particularly since repeal, signals to the rest of the world that we will not tolerate a backlash against women's rights, particularly on the right to choose.

I thank the Deputy for raising this very important issue. It is fair to say that the decision on Roe v. Wade was quite shocking in many respects but fundamentally because it overturns 50 years of jurisprudence. In other words, what was judicial precedent over a 50-year period was overturned. However, we are different here in this society and our constitutional framework is different. The fundamental difference is twofold.

First, we have the referendum mechanism that has been built into our Constitution since 1937. We can be thankful. Very often the framers of the Constitution can be attacked, for different reasons, some of which may be legitimate. However, fundamentally, it was very unusual that in the middle of fascist Europe in 1937 that a Government brought in a Constitution that limited its own power via referendum and judicial interpretation. Referendum is a powerful mechanism. We have chosen, as a people, by referendum to lay out our framework in terms of the termination of pregnancy and the subsequent legislation was passed in 2018. The referendum mechanism is crucial.

Second, it is a salutary lesson for everyone in this House, in that we need to protect against and avoid any undermining of the separation of powers. What had clearly been afoot in the United States for many years and which is very worrying, was the degree to which one could witness the politicisation of the Supreme Court. People were appointed on the basis of their position on this issue alone. Now, as a Dáil and as an Oireachtas, we need to double down on upholding the separation of powers as well, because it is a real revelation.

The review is about the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018. Phase 1 is almost complete. I will come back to the Deputy later in a supplementary reply to go through it.

I thank the Taoiseach for his views on Roe v. Wade and jurisprudence but I am more interested in what this Government is going to do to push back against any attempt to roll back abortion. I have no doubt this will embolden anti-abortionists everywhere. Aside from them, we need to know women's rights will be strengthened and not weakened by this Government. That review is hugely important, not least because the figures I gave are quite shocking. There were 770 women who had to travel when one of the reasons for introducing the legislation was to allow a health service that took care of women's reproductive rights in this country and not abroad.

We have a shocking situation, and many women come to us about it, where fatal foetal abnormality is not being properly dealt with under our laws. That also needs to be reviewed. I am more interested in that review, when it will take place and what commitment the Government will give to follow up the comments of the Minister for Justice this morning. She said we have to push back against any attempt to undermine abortion legislation in this country. I have no doubt that will come and we have already seen evidence of it from various quarters in this Oireachtas. It will come from other forces as well.

I really want a commitment from the Taoiseach today that the abortion review will be held as soon as possible and that he will commit to reviewing all the features of it, including fatal foetal abnormalities, the three-day wait, the 12-week limit and the full decriminalisation of abortion.

Again, I would not be as dismissive as the Deputy on what I said about our referendum, our Constitution and the separation of powers. It goes to the very heart of what happened in the United States. Above everything else, we should avoid the politicisation of the Judiciary; that is the basic point I make because that is what led to the decision on Roe v. Wade.

Likewise, on the protection of women's rights in this country, I do not see that weakening; in fact I see it strengthening. The review is about the operation of the Act. We had a referendum about five years ago and we must be faithful to that referendum and the people's decision, certainly in the immediate aftermath. That is where we are. The first phase is almost complete and much research and work has gone into the review. The issue of fatal foetal abnormality works both ways as well and we must make sure the framework within the legislation is properly adhered to. I certainly know of a case where the wrong decision was taken and that has not got the level of attention it perhaps should have. That needs to be said too. We need rigorous and objective evaluation of the legislation. I am particularly concerned about hospitals that are not implementing the legislation.

The policy issues that the Deputy refers to are broader than the review and are matters for political parties in these Houses to raise at any particular time. If people want to put forward ideas around the liberalisation of legislation or the changing of it, it is a matter for Members.