Consultant gynaecologist Dr Michael Neary denied in the High Court yesterday that he used hysterectomies as "a form of contraception".
He said his practice in relation to performing hysterectomies was similar to his other colleagues in Drogheda. Because of the Roman Catholic ethos of Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital, Drogheda, unlike their colleagues in Dublin hospitals, they were not permitted to perform sterilisations.
He said Dublin hospitals performed sterilisations since 1977. However, unless women had had their babies delivered in Dublin hospitals, those hospitals would not perform sterilisations on them. This was set out in the guidelines of the Ethics Committee.
He said he was asked about four times a week in Drogheda to perform a sterilisation.
Dr Neary said the situation at the Drogheda hospital was they had some women on their fourth or fifth Caesarean sections.
This involved a lot of scar tissue in the uterus and damage as a result of repeated pregnancies. If there was a danger of uterus rupture, he carried out hysterectomies.