Hi °C | Lo °C HealtH Minister James Reilly has said he is on course to present the main points of the bill on abortion legislation by Easter.
And he denied any cabinet rift on the inclusion of risk of suicide as grounds for abortion under the terms of the X Case ruling.
"The heads of the bill will be with us by Easter and that remains on track. I hope to have (the bill) in the Dail chamber by the summer and have it law before the summer break."
He added: "That is the goal and I believe that is in keeping with what most people want. People want clarification for the women of Ireland who have to use our health services and for the doctors and nurses who have to provide the care."
Asked if there were differences between government parties on the inclusion of risk of suicide as grounds for abortion, he replied: "Not at all. This is very complex.
"There are something like 50 different heads in the bill that have to be addressed but we are making very good progress. We are meeting weekly in the Department of Health about it and the matter is progressing very satisfactorily," he said.
He said he expected to get the final report of the review group that examined the care of Savita Halappanavar shortly.
A draft report has indicated that Ms Halappanavar, who was admitted to University College Hospital in Galway and told she would have a miscarriage, did not have an underlying infection treated on time.
Irish Independent
