By Jonathan Magee
DONEGAL’S five TDs split along party lines on one of the most politically charged votes in recent years, as the Dáil passed a bill on Wednesday to remove the mandatory three-day waiting period for abortion services.
The county’s two Sinn Féin TDs, Pearse Doherty and Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, voted in favour of the bill brought forward by their party’s health spokesperson David Cullinane, which sought to abolish the three-day wait between a woman’s initial GP consultation and accessing a termination.
The vote carries particular weight for Donegal, where access to abortion services has long been among the most limited in the country. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald highlighted during the Dáil debate how the three-day wait hits rural women hardest, with many forced to travel hours for an initial appointment only to be sent away and told to return three days later.
Donegal’s two Fianna Fáil TDs voted against the measure.
Pat ‘the Cope’ Gallagher raised objections at the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party meeting on Tuesday, saying he felt Taoiseach Micheál Martin was attempting to influence colleagues’ votes ahead of the division.
Charlie McConalogue also voted against, consistent with his previously held position on abortion legislation.
The county’s fifth TD, Charles Ward of the 100% Redress Party, also voted no.
The bill passed by 86 votes to 70, with the majority of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs voting against, but carried by opposition votes combined with support from the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, and a number of Government ministers who backed the legislation as a matter of conscience.
The bill now goes before the Oireachtas Health Committee for further scrutiny, with Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill expected to hold discussions with the Attorney General.
It could become law before the end of the year.