A bill that would relax Ireland's abortion laws should not be delayed.
That's according to People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith, as a private members bill is to be debated later.
Fine Gael is set to give its TDs a free vote on the bill.
Deputy Smith has said the bill would remove the three-day waiting period and lift a 12-week limit on abortion services.
She told Newstalk Breakfast this should be extended to "viability - 22 or 24 weeks - depending on what the science says."
"There's so few... pregnancies happen that late, but it may often be in the case of serious risk to a woman's health.
"We also want to fully decriminalise the provision of abortion.
"At the moment that acts as a chill factor over doctors, but it also presents abortion as somehow a dirty, risky or shameful act for the people who need it.
"Finally we have recommendations in the legislation to lift the 28-day limit that exists on fatal foetal anomaly.
"It's very restrictive: it's not 29, it's not 30 - it's 28 and it's very difficult for doctors to make that determination".
'Amendment'
Deputy Smith said other coalition parties are also planning a free vote on the bill.
"We got word yesterday that Fianna Fáil and the Green Party are also giving their members a free vote," she said.
"The thing about this vote is that the Government, through Stephen Donnelly's office, have put in an amendment.
"When the voting block is taken, the amendment is taken first.
"The amendment that Stephen Donnelly put says, 'Leave this for one year and let's come back to it' - more or less to give the Health Committee time to think about and review all that's contained in Dr Marie O'Shea and her teams' report.
"We just think that's unnecessary".
A recommendation to relax abortion laws is expected to be formally made later.
Dr Marie O'Shea, chair of an independent review on abortion, will appear before the Oireachtas Health Committee.
She is expected to tell committee members changes should be made - including the removal of the three-day waiting period before a woman can access a termination of pregnancy.
