Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018

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PART 2

Termination of pregnancy

Definitions (Part 2)

8. In this Part—

“appropriate medical practitioner”, in relation to a medical practitioner and his or her assessment of the risk to the life, or of serious harm to the health, of a pregnant woman, means a medical practitioner appropriate to the care or treatment of the woman in respect of the risk;

“Executive” means the Health Service Executive;

“health” means physical or mental health;

“medical specialty” means a medical specialty recognised by the Medical Council under section 89 of the Act of 2007;

“obstetrician” means an obstetrician and gynaecologist;

“obstetrician and gynaecologist” means a medical practitioner who is registered in the Specialist Division of the register under the medical specialty of “Obstetrics and Gynaecology”;

“relevant decision” shall be construed in accordance with section 13 ;

“relevant specialty”, in relation to a medical practitioner and his or her assessment of the presence of a condition affecting a foetus that is likely to lead to the death of the foetus either before, or within 28 days of, birth, means a medical specialty—

(a) in respect of which the medical practitioner is registered in the Specialist Division of the register, and

(b) relevant to the diagnosis, care or treatment of such a condition;

“review”, in relation to a relevant decision, means a review under section 16 ;

“review committee”, in relation to a relevant decision, means the committee established under section 15 (1) to review that decision;

“review panel” means the panel established under section 14 (1);

“ section 9 certification” means a certification referred to in section 9 (3) or, as the case may be, a certification pursuant to section 16 (2) as to the matters referred to in paragraph (a) of that subsection;

“ section 10 certification” means a certification referred to in section 10 (2);

“ section 11 certification” means a certification referred to in section 11 (3) or, as the case may be, a certification pursuant to section 16 (2) as to the matters referred to in paragraph (b) of that subsection;

“ section 12 certification” means a certification referred to in section 12 (2);

“viability” means the point in a pregnancy at which, in the reasonable opinion of a medical practitioner, the foetus is capable of survival outside the uterus without extraordinary life-sustaining measures.