The widespread use of emergency contraception in cases of rape or incest needs to be carefully monitored, according to Dr Mary Henry, a consultant at the Rotunda specialising in pulmonary embolism in women, because of the possible risk of side-effects.
While the use of such drugs in rape or incest cases was useful, the age of the girl and the duration of the pregnancy could be taken into account. "The use of RU 486 and other medical abortifacients (or drugs such as cybotec which are used for other medical conditions but produce abortions) are likely to become more easily available as street drugs, anyway," she said.
Young women who took them should be aware of their side-effects, said Dr Henry, the only woman to address the committee. It was worrying that they might become available on the Internet without the need for a doctor's prescription, as in the case of Viagra. There were reports of children being born with limb deformities where such drugs had failed to terminate the pregnancy.
Incest was rarely reported "at the time", said Dr Henry. She felt that the number of pregnancies resulting from rape attacks was relatively low, but had no problem with prescribing the "morning-after pill" in such cases. It made the lining of the uterus "unreceptive" to a fertilised egg.
"I don't think a pregnancy is started until you know that the woman is pregnant, and you won't know before implantation has taken place. You can't go searching round in the uterus for an egg that may not implant."
Her main concern was with the life of the mother. Abortion could never be the preferred end to any pregnancy, but society had a major role to play in reducing the number of socio-economic abortions sought by Irish women.
She was asked by Senator Denis O'Donovan (FF) whether she favoured "more liberal abortion here" in restricted circumstances. She said she did not think that was a true representation of her position. "I would like us to define what is legal from the point of view of the life of the mother," she said.
In other words, if a pregnancy was terminated to save the life of the mother, there should be no doubt about whether the action was legal. Related to this was the fact that lethal foetal abnormalities such as anencephaly should be looked at.
"In her moment of greatest grief, we should consider carefully before telling a pregnant woman in this situation that she has no other option but to go to Cardiff or London."
There were implications for the mother, the child in the womb and the doctor. For the mother, the doctor could be challenged quite easily for asserting that a foetus was non-viable, or for prescribing medication in cancer cases, for example, that might lead to a deterioration in the health of the foetus.
For the child with foetal abnormalities there could be "accidents" if treatment ended the life of the foetus. "The doctor too must have cognisance of what people think."
As regards any proposal to change the Constitution, "we could get back to the pre-1983" situation, but she did not believe that was now possible. As a doctor she had never recommended anyone to have an abortion, nor had she been asked.
"I think we were fine as we were," she added.
The situation had improved by 1992 when there was a little more clarity on the abortion issue. "I regret what happened then [the X and C cases]. I don't think it improved the situation. In fact it made it much worse," Dr Henry said.