Sir, - The "X" Case will not go away. In the words of Shakespeare it "will rise, though all the world o'erwhelm it, to men's eyes".
It has now emerged, as a result of evidence given before the Oireachtas Sub-Committee, that the girl involved in the "X" Case was under all proper medical care during her pregnancy and until she went to England to have an abortion. That course was supported by a clinical psychologist but no doctor or doctors who were looking after her gave evidence suggesting that they favoured such a solution to her problems, or that she appeared to be suicidal.
If this, in fact, was the situation at the time, the legal team which represented the girl in the proceedings before Mr Justice Costello in the High Court owed a duty to the Court to put before him all the relevant evidence in their possession to enable him, and on appeal, the Supreme Court, to come to a proper conclusion in relation to the case.
I have previously raised this question and it has remained unanswered. Did the legal team representing the girl in the "X" Case consult with the doctor or doctors looking after the girl before they went into court on her behalf? If so, what medical opinion were they given at the time? Why was such medical evidence, if available, withheld from the judge who was dealing with the case?
Our legal system operates on a fundamental basis of mutual trust between bench and Bar. We, and in particular the judges who dealt with the "X" Case in the High Court and the Supreme Court, are entitled to be reassured that there was no relevant medical evidence in the possession of the barristers and solicitors representing the girl in question which was withheld from the court on the hearing of the case. - Yours, etc.,
Roderick J. O'Hanlon, Former Judge of the High Court, Kilternan, Co Dublin.