6,666 abortions in Ireland – but many still travel
Women being forced abroad, warns Amnesty
MORE than 6,500 legal abortions were carried out in Ireland last year, new figures reveal.
However, Amnesty International has warned that many women who could not meet the 12-week time limit to request a termination were still forced to travel abroad to access the healthcare they needed.
The Department of Health has published its first annual report since the May 2018 referendum gave women a broader right to terminate their pregnancies.
Before that key vote, abortions were only permitted in Ireland if the life of the mother was at stake.
According to the report, a total of 6,666 terminations were carried out in 2019.
Of those, 6,542 terminations took place in early pregnancy, while 100 were due to a condition likely to lead to the death of a foetus.
A further 21 terminations were carried out at a time when there was a risk to the life or health of a pregnant woman, and three were carried out in emergency circumstances.
The highest number of terminations, 625, took place in January 2019. The next highest was 602 in July, followed by 592 in December last year and 580 in May.
The department also published the counties where the women came from. The greatest number, 2,493, came from Dublin, followed by 606 from Cork, 295 from Kildare, 280 from Galway, 252 from Meath and 226 from Limerick. There were also 67 women from Northern Ireland.
O’Gorman, executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, said: ‘To go from a country that exiled women seeking abortions two years ago, to one that is caring for them at home, is such an important step forward.’
However, he added that ‘serious gaps’ remained in the legislation that were still forcing pregnant people to travel, and asked the Government to close those gaps when it reviewed the law.
Statistics published by the UK Department of Health and Social Care in early June revealed that 375 women and girls travelled from Ireland to access abortion services in
England and Wales in 2019. The gaps apply to those who do not seek an abortion within 12 weeks of the start of the pregnancy. Mr O’Gorman said one such gap was the high threshold of serious harm to a pregnant person’s health, and another was the lack of access in cases of severe non-fatal foetal impairment diagnoses.
He added: ‘Some gaps in the law can’t wait until the threeyear review process to close. One is the promised legislation to create safe zones around healthcare facilities. Peaceful protesting is a human right; intimidating people seeking healthcare is not.’
The Abortion Rights CamColm paign said the data showed progress had been made, but that there was still a way to go to universal abortion access.
Campaign organiser Cathie Shiels said: ‘The release of Ireland’s first abortion figures demonstrates a reality we have long known to be true: Irish people get abortions. They always have, always will. Now, for the first time in the country’s history, free, safe, legal abortion is possible.’
But she added: ‘As we saw from the recently released abortion statistics from the UK, hundreds of people from the Republic are still forced overseas to access the healthcare they need.
‘Especially in the context of the pandemic, it is clear that exporting healthcare to the UK is unacceptable.’
The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) described the report as a landmark, noting that 98% of the terminations took place in early pregnancy. However, its chief executive, Niall Behan, said reforms to sexuality education
‘Important step forward’ ‘Massive spike in the number’
and contraception access were urgently needed.
Trinity College Dublin will contribute to the Government’s review of abortion in Ireland. TCD assistant professor Dr Catherine Conlon is carrying out research to understand women’s experiences of using abortion care services and unplanned pregnancy supports.
Anti-abortion campaigner and Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD said: ‘Campaigners such as ourselves stated that Ireland would follow the same path as every country that legalised abortion and see a massive spike in the number of terminations of life. This has now sadly come to pass.’