The Legislative Council may hold an extra sitting before going into summer recess, to ensure it can finish its deliberations on the Abortion Reform Bill.

The second reading was only completed late in the afternoon on Tuesday, following the long session of evidence from witnesses during the second reading stage

Given there were already more than 60 amendments - and the likelihood of more to be tabled, even if only technical - plus the need to look at some of the issues raised by the witnesses, Bill Henderson, the man tasked with guiding the bill through the upper chamber, asked whether the clauses stage could start at the next sitting.

He admitted he was ’uncomfortable’ that the clauses stage could not be taken on Tuesday, as had been originally hoped.

There is only one scheduled sitting of Legislative Council left, on June 26. A suggestion was made that an additional sitting could be held at the end of next week’s Tynwald session but President of Tynwald Steve Rodan ruled that out, pointing out that as it was not known precisely when that session would end so MLCs and the public would not have adequate notice.

He confirmed, however, that a motion could be tabled at the June 26 sitting of LegCo, to arrange a further sitting and allow the third and final reading to take place.

However, he also warned that the impact would be to speed things up by just one week when the branches of Tynwald resumed parliamentary business in the autumn, because the bill would have to be sent back to the House of Keys for it to consider the LegCo amendments.

It would mean, though, that the House of Keys would be in a position to consider those amendments at its first sitting in October.