Government TDs are seeking extra scrutiny of legislation removing the three-day waiting period for abortion services due to fears of a potential backlash from voters over it being “railroaded” through the Dáil. Many Coalition TDs, including senior Ministers, voted against the Sinn Féin Bill in the Dáil earlier this month, but it passed with the support of Opposition TDs and Government members including Taoiseach Micheál Martin, Tánaiste Simon Harris and Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill. Several Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs who are members of the Oireachtas health committee want it to hold further public hearings or seek submissions before the proposal advances through the Oireachtas. At a private meeting of the committee this week, some Government TDs argued that witnesses should be brought in regarding what was proposed, and said pushing the Bill through as quickly as possible could cause division. Fine Gael TD Colm Burke, deputy chair of the committee, who voted against the Bill, said he favoured there being further “scrutiny” of what was being proposed. [ Sinn Féin Bill on abortion services passes crucial Dáil vote with help of MinistersOpens in new window ]“Let’s not rush into the decision, let’s look at it carefully and make sure what we come back with is carefully thought out.”Another Government member, speaking privately, said: “If it was seen to be given preferential treatment or railroaded, I don’t know would that be as conducive to the next stage of it.” Another committee member, who supports the legislation, said there was a “clear division” between those who want more detailed scrutiny and those who think it has already been sufficiently debated in the Dáil. Another TD who supports the legislation said it was an “unusual situation”, where Government members were not as supportive of their leaders’ positions as Opposition TDs.[ Abortion services Bill has strengthened case for conscience-based voting, Tánaiste saysOpens in new window ]Sinn Féin health spokesman David Cullinane, who brought forward the Bill, said he was “not opposed to further scrutiny by the health committee” but his preference was for it to advance and be “passed as soon as is possible”. “The Department [of Health] and the HSE are on record as saying that there is no legislative or clinical reason why the Bill should not proceed,” he said. The Bill stands an unusually high chance of making it onto the statute books thanks to support from the Government benches and Opposition TDs. A committee source said they did not envisage a significant delay even if extra scrutiny was applied. Committee members are due to decide on this next week.