What is the main argument in the article ?  The chairwoman of the committee tasked with paving the way for an abortion referendum next year has said that rape victims should not have to go through a “strenuous” process to access legal terminations.Catherine Noone, the Fine Gael senator, was appointed to lead the new Oireachtas committee, which met for the first time yesterday. Its main task will be to consider the report of the citizens’ assembly, published next week, which will recommend repealing the Eighth Amendment and replacing it with a liberal law allowing abortion for all women up to 12 weeks’ gestation. The 21-member committee is also tasked with advising on what type of abortion law would replace the Eighth Amendment if it were repealed.Many politicians, including Leo Varadkar, have already distanced themselves from the findings of the assembly, which was set up by Enda Kenny to gauge the desire to change the law. The taoiseach has said that he believes its recommendations went too far.Ms Noone denied yesterday that any proposals, including free access to abortion, were already “dead in the water”. “Everything is on the table,” she said.Mr Varadkar has already promised to hold a referendum on whether the Eighth Amendment should be re-pealed. Abortion is legal in Ireland only when the life of the woman is at risk, including from suicide.This week an abortion support group said it had dealt with the cases of two women, both immigrants, who had been denied abortions even after telling health professionals that they had already tried to kill themselves.Ms Noone said that she was open to reviewing the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, which requires suicidal women to be assessed by a panel of three medical experts before they can be approved for an abortion.Several Fine Gael ministers have indicated that they are open to legalising access to abortion only in cases of rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormality. Ms Noone said she did not believe that any future law should be based on the 2013 act, where rape victims could have to prove that they had been victims of sexual assault.”I think we have to be very sensitive on the issue of rape. Personally, I would like to reserve judgment until we see what the submissions we will receive from experts will say. At the same time, the idea of a rape victim having to go through a strenuous process at a very difficult time in their life does not make sense to me,” she said.The committee will hold its first public meeting in September and will then have three months to reach a consensus. Arts & Humanities English ENGL MISC