Thank heavens Dr Jim McDaid is that rare combination; a Fianna Fail member of parliament, a doctor, and a man with a conscience. The withdrawal of the cervical cancer drug will lead to deaths, no matter how much spin Mary Harny and her new-found buddy monkey-man Cowen put on it. But why was Jim McDaid the only Fianna Fail doctor not to support the government in the vote? I suppose Dr Devins from Sligo couldn’t be expected to break rank. He’s a junior minister, collective responsibility etc. but what about the good doctor from Carrickmacross? I am sure that had the vote concerned the welfare of the unborn his conscience would have made him oppose it, but when it came to the welfare of the born, that was another matter entirely. Now I believe that life begins at conception, but I don’t believe that there occurs some attenuation of rights once a baby is born. Not must there be a right to life but there must be a right to quality of life as well. This includes taking whatever means are necessary to prevent the growth of serious illness and if present, to prevent its growth. Dr Rory needn’t have worried about being expelled into the political wilderness. After all he’s going to have to stand down at the next election, when he’ll be 78, when he will hopefully hand over the seat to one of his children, though sadly I don’t think it will be Ardal.
