‘Rogue’ crisis pregnancy agencies have targeted 15 women, department says

Fifteen women reported being targeted by “rogue” crisis pregnancy agencies between 2018 and 2021, according to the Department of Health.

It comes after a recent investigation found that anti-abortion campaign groups are continuing to run unregulated agencies, which give women misleading “advice”.

There is no regulation of crisis pregnancy agencies in Ireland and no requirement for someone who offers advice to women to have any qualifications at all.

Eight years ago, the then health minister Simon Harris vowed to regulate crisis pregnancy agencies following an undercover newspaper investigation into clinics run by anti-abortion activists.

While the Government moved to introduce regulations that would cover crisis pregnancy agencies in 2017, seven years later they are still not in place.

A Counsellors and Psychotherapists Registration Board (CPRB) was appointed in February 2019 and held its inaugural meeting in May 2019, but the profession of crisis pregnancy counsellor is still not regulated.

In response to a parliamentary question from Labour leader Ivana Bacik, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said that “owing to a significant body of preparatory work” that the CPRB is required to undertake, and the complexity of introducing regulation to this profession, “it is not possible to say with any degree of accuracy when the profession of counsellor will be fully regulated”.

“Between 2018 and 2022, there were 15 reported incidents of service users attending the above services having been in prior contact with a ‘rogue’ agency. However, none of these incidents occurred in 2022. The HSE’s website advises service users that they should only visit a HSE-funded unplanned pregnancy counselling service,” Mr Donnelly said.

Last week, RTÉ broadcast a documentary on abortion services in Ireland, more than five years since Ireland’s abortion laws came into effect.

The documentary included undercover footage taken at two crisis pregnancy agencies, and one “retreat” for women suffering from “post-abortion trauma”. All three are run by anti-abortion campaign groups.

In the footage, a woman is told by one agency that having an abortion could lead to “pre-term” births if she went on to have another pregnancy. She was also told she could suffer from regret, depression and that she may seek out a “replacement” baby.

Another agency told a woman that abortion carried serious mental health risks, and that she may not be able to continue working with children afterwards.

Ms Bacik said: “Rogue crisis pregnancy agencies lie to women at a time of exceptional vulnerability. Any agency which provides counselling to women experiencing crisis pregnancies must be registered and regulated.”

She said that in 2016, her party had brought forward a private members’ bill that sought to regulate such agencies. “Yet we are now still being told it will take ‘years’ to regulate. Women in crisis can’t wait,” she said.

“It is imperative that the Minister for Health bring in regulations to ensure that these agencies are no longer able to give dangerous advice to vulnerable women.

“They are interfering with reproductive health decisions and women’s autonomy.”

‘A woman was told having an abortion could lead to “pre-term” births if she went on to have another pregnancy’