Woman in Coombe case ‘considering going to UK’
A MOTHER whose foetus cannot survive outside the womb is said to be considering going to Britain for an abortion after she claimed she was being denied one here.
Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger told the Dáil yesterday that she had been contacted by a woman who is 14 weeks pregnant and whose baby has been diagnosed with a fatal foetal abnormality. The woman said she had been denied a termination at Dublin’s Coombe Hospital.
The alleged refusal comes just two weeks after abortion became legal in Ireland. While abortions in normal circumstances are legal up to 12 weeks, they can be carried out after this point if two experts agree that the baby is likely to die within 28 days of its birth.
Ms Coppinger said she believed it was the first test case for the new legislation.
She said: ‘It appears that the board of the Coombe Hospital is refusing her Constitutional right, that we all voted for, to have an abortion at a time she chooses. Instead, they have told her she must wait another four weeks to see if there is a spontaneous miscarriage.’
This is precisely the type of case that led to pressure to repeal of the Eighth Amendment, she said.
At 13 weeks, the woman went for her 12-week scan. Doctors could see that the organs of the foetus were outside the body. They brought the woman back a week later when the diagnosis was confirmed. Two consultants stated that there is a fatal foetal abnormality.
‘A week later, the matter went to the board and the board overruled that assertion,’ Ms Coppinger said.
The Coombe Hospital said yesterday evening that it cannot comment on individual cases but denied the suggestion that its board had denied the woman an abortion.
‘The Board of Guardians and Directors of the Coombe Women & Infants University Hospital has no role whatsoever in certifying a termination of pregnancy,’ it said. ‘Insofar as recent media coverage has stated that the board has had a role in determining whether or not the criteria for certification have
been untrue.’ met, those reports are
Ms Coppinger called on Health Minister Simon Harris to meet the woman. ‘She should not have to pay to travel, which is what she is talking about doing if she does not have her Constitutional rights affirmed,’ she said.
People Before Profit TD Bríd Smith told the Dáil that she had spoken to the woman, and that the woman said she wanted to be named. She said the child was ‘a much-wanted baby’, but she had been told by doctors, ‘You can go to England.’
Ms Smith said: ‘Her words to me were: “This is not what I voted for. I have Constitutional rights.”’ The woman is finding it hard to sleep, knowing the condition her muchwanted child is in. She wants a termination. She is entitled to it. This country voted for it.’
The Ceann Comhairle said the Dáil could not have a situation in which individual cases are brought up and Ministers called upon to comment upon medical situations.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney said he did not think it appropriate to raise a tragic case involving ‘somebody who is clearly under a lot of stress’.
The Department of Health said last night the operation of the new abortion law is ‘entirely a matter’ for the doctors involved. ‘However, it is clear that where a patient requires care not available in a particular location, the patient should be transferred to a hospital/service where the necessary care is available,’ a spokesperson said.
The department said it had been advised that the Coombe Hospital was currently providing terminations in emergency situations as well as in cases of fatal foetal abnormality.
Mr Harris has asked the HSE to obtain from the Coombe ‘relevant information on what was alleged in the Dáil’.
Orla O’Connor, Director of the National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) said: ‘The legislation is clear: two doctors are required to certify a termination. As reported in this case, the two doctors were in agreement, however an abortion has been denied.
‘The full facts of the decisions made in the Coombe hospital... need to be made clear. This case has the potential for widespread anxiety for women.’
The Abortion Rights Campaign condemned what it said was the ‘wrongful refusal of care’ to a woman diagnosed with a fatal foetal anomaly.
Says she was denied abortion
Hospital denies board intervened