Sharon Keogan backs pregnancy-loss leave but urges criminal law reform

Thank you. Nicole, thank you very much for sharing your personal story. I think there are a lot of women in this chamber that could share their stories too, but your story today is about you, it is about your story today. I want to thank you for bringing this legislation that marks a significant, compassionate step forward in how we as a society and as a legislator recognise the reality of pregnancy loss. The bill acknowledges something that many families have known for far too long, that the loss of a pregnancy whether at six weeks or 16 is not just a medical event, it is a bereavement, it is a moment of grief, of heartache, heartbreak and of profound emotional impact and it is the times our law reflected the truth. Under this legislation employees who experience pregnancy loss will be entitled to paid leave, five working days for the person who was pregnant and two and a half days for their partner or co-parent. This is a humane and necessary reform. It gives people the space to grieve, to recover and to be acknowledged for this loss. This bill also provides for the creation of a confidential opt-in registry of pregnancy loss. This is a powerful and symbolic measure. It allows parents to formally record the existence of a child whom may never have been legally recognised. For many this would be a source of healing and dignity. I commend the sponsors of the bill for their thoughtful and compassionate work. It is a bill that speaks to the emotional reality of pregnancy loss and it brings our legal framework closer to the lived experience of so many families. But while I support the bill wholeheartedly I must also say it doesn't go far enough. This legislation recognises the loss of a child in early pregnancy as something worthy of leave, of recognition and of respect. But it also perhaps unintentionally draws attention to a deeper inconsistency in our laws, ones that we can no longer ignore. Let me remind the House of the Women's Aid 2024 annual report which revealed that 188 pregnant or postpartum women were supported last year due to intimate partner abuse. These are not just statistics, these are women whose lives and their lives of their unborn children were placed in danger. I have spoken out before about a young woman from Dublin, 22 weeks pregnant, who was stabbed to death by her partner. The court heard he intended to kill her unborn child but no charges were brought for that death. I have spoken of the 27 year old mother in Donadie, 34 weeks pregnant, murdered in her home, two lives lost but only one victim recognised in law. These cases are tragic but these they also expose a legislative vacuum because while we, while this bill recognises the emotional loss of the pregnancy, our criminal law does not yet recognise the legal loss of an unborn child when the loss is caused by violence. Now I'm fully aware that this bill is focused on the employment law and civil registration. It amends the organisation of Working Time Act and related legislation. It does not and cannot create new criminal offences. But I believe it is entirely appropriate in the context of this debate to highlight the moral logic that underpins this bill that the loss of pregnancy is a loss of life. A loss of hope and a loss of potential and if we accept that logic in the civil sphere we must also begin to ask why does our criminal law not reflect the same truth. If a pregnancy ends in violence due to a violent assault and the unborn child dies that death is not counted. There is no separate offence, no additional charge, no justice for the child. This is not about abortion, this is not about interfering with productive rights. Reproductive rights is about intentional violence, this is about criminal accountability, this is about ensuring that when a child dies in the womb or a child dies in the womb or as a result of a crime. What is the point of reference to this bill? I support the bill and so I would urge the House to consider what we must do next. We need a broader conversation, one that includes the criminal justice system, the rights of the victim and the regulation of the unborn life in cases of violence. Thank you.