Eighth Amendment committee report
Senator Coghlan questioned the committee's vote against retaining the Eighth Amendment in full and argued the issue deserved careful scrutiny. The Cathaoirleach warned against presumption and Senator Coghlan insisted on latitude.
The Joint Committee on the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution has voted not to recommend the retention of the amendment in full. I am puzzled as to why this was decided in advance of hearing all the witnesses it was intended to hear before the end of the year. How much of the constitutional protection does the committee propose to remove and how much does it propose to retain? How much extinguishment of life is it envisaged will be permitted?
The question of how many unborn children will lose their current constitutional protection is an important one, with probably none more important. In early course, perhaps the Leader will permit a debate on the matter. I appreciate that he may not be able to or want to answer me.
