A man whose wife had an abortion in Liverpool three years ago is giving a mixed response to the Health Minister's speech in the Dail last night.
Leo Varadkar told the house that women are often placed in danger in countries with laws that are as conservative as Ireland's current rules.
James Burke and his wife Amanda chose to have a termination in Liverpool after their daughter was diagnosed with a fatal foetal abnormality.
He says that although he respects the fact Minister Varadkar made the comments, it's hard not to be cynical:
Meanwhile, the Junior Health Minister has backed Leo Varadkar over his remarks in which he said Ireland’s abortion laws are too restrictive.
Minister Pascal Donohue said that Varadkar made a constructive and measured contribution to the subject:
Rebecca Cody became pregnant in September of last year. When she had her 20-week scan in January, she discovered her son, Christopher Denis, had complications that were incompatible with life.
Rebecca spoke to Lunchtime with Jonathan Healy about the comments and stated: "It does have to be the people in the middle that have no choice, that have no options. They need to be heard.
"I went to a hospital in town, in Dublin city centre and then I had to leave that hospital and leave the country to go to another country.
"You should be able to go to your own hospital that has advised you."
Clíona Johnson gave birth to her son John-Paul, who suffered from anencephaly, an absence of a major part of the brain, and lived for just 17 minutes.
She also spoke to Jonathan Healy about her reaction to the event and told him she felt saddened and misrepresented by the comments:
