The Minister for Health Simon Harris has said he is “disappointed” [1] at comments from the Master of the Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital who warned that the hospital will not be ready to provide abortions by the planned deadline [2] date of January 1st.
Mr Harris said in the Seanad that it is a “reality today in Ireland that some women can travel and that other women, particularly marginalised women, can’t travel. That is why I am disappointed when I hear comments like the comments from the Coombe hospital today who say they won’t be in a position to provide the services”.
The Minister then said there was a need for “clinical leadership” to “make sure that the services are in place in January.”
Independent Senator Rónán Mullen accused Mr Harris of “hustling” hospitals. “I don’t think it is good enough for the Minister to be hustling them in the language that he just did. We hear a lot these days about the need to defer to medics and medics knowing best, how we are not going to write the script for medics. But people seem to be very willing to do that when they want.”
He added: “It is entirely unfortunate to be sending out any ministerial, political message to the Coombe hospital or others. The Minister should be deferring to the medical facilitates on this one instead of hustling them on for the sake of some politically motivated time limit. That is entirely the wrong approach.”