National Women's Council and more demand urgent improvements to abortion provision in open letter to Government

The National Women's Council, along with other civil society organisations, service providers, academics and doctors, have issued an open letter today – demanding that the Government takes urgent action to improve abortion provision in Ireland, as recommended in Marie O'Shea's report, published last year.

“In 2018, Ireland voted to provide compassionate care for women at home," comments Orla O'Connor, Director of the National Women's Council. "The O’Shea review clearly shows that serious gaps remain in abortion care, resulting in significant barriers and distress for many women, with some still being forced to travel. We are calling on the Government to implement the recommendations of the review, without further delay, as well as all necessary legislative changes, to ensure safe, timely and equitable access to abortion.”

In order to address the "significant barriers to equitable and accessible abortion services" in Ireland, the open letter urges the Government to "take the necessary legislative and operational steps" – including:

• "Full decriminalisation of abortion in line with World Health Organisation (WHO) guidance to remove the chilling effect on healthcare providers, ensuring that they can use their clinical judgment to care for people without fear of prosecution"
• "Remove the mandatory three day wait period, ensuring timely access to abortion care"
• "Review the 12-weeks gestational limit to ensure women and pregnant people are not timing out of care and forced to travel abroad for essential reproductive healthcare"
• "Recruit a HSE Primary Care Lead for Termination of Pregnancy to address gaps in training, guidance, and data collection for early medical abortions"
• "Expedite legislation regarding Safe Access Zones, ensuring swift implementation to protect the areas adjacent to abortion services"

The open letter goes on to state that the "Government cannot delay the necessary legislative and operational changes any further", and that "political leadership is urgently required to ensure Ireland’s reproductive healthcare system is equitable and responsive to emerging evidence and clinical best practice so it can meet the needs of all women and pregnant people."

Following the publication of the letter today, Dr Mary Favier of Doctors for Choice and the Southern Task-Force On Abortion & Reproductive Topics said:

“The three-day wait is a significant impediment to timely care and criminalisation continues to stigmatise both providers and women. Community provision must be supported by a primary care lead focusing on evaluation of the service and targeted interventions to improve access. What needs to change has been well documented in the Review. It is time for political action and that time is now.”

The open letter was signed by Orla O’Connor (National Women’s Council), Alison Spillane (Irish Family Planning Association), Richael Carroll (Abortion Rights Campaign), Ailbhe Smyth (Action for Choice), Ciara McHugh (Abortion Support Network), Maria Joyce (National Traveller Women’s Forum), Karen Sugrue, (Together for Safety), Dr Marion Dyer & Dr Mary Favier (Doctors for Choice), Stephen Bowen (Amnesty International Ireland), Luna Lara Liboni (Irish Council for Civil Liberties) Patricia Acom (AkiDwA), Danielle Roberts (Alliance for Choice), Dr Catherine Conlon (TCD), Dr Lorraine Grimes (Maynooth University) Dr Deirdre Duffy (Lancaster University), Dr Ruth Fletcher (Queen Mary University of London), Dr Kate Antosik-Parsons (TCD), Prof Fiona de Londras (University of Birmingham), Dr Camilla Fitzsimons & Dr Sinéad Kennedy (Academics for Reproductive Justice) and Bernie Linnane (Leitrim for Choice),

In a recent interview with RTÉ Investigates, Marie O'Shea criticised the Government's failure to act on the recommendations in her report.

"Something has to happen, but it does take political will and courage to do that, and it certainly needs political leadership from the top," she said.

Read the full open letter to the Government here.

🧵NWC along with civil society groups, frontline services, advocacy organisations, academics and doctors, have written  an open letter to Government to demand improvements to #abortion provision in Ireland https://t.co/pDJ5f3sMAB pic.twitter.com/XyxEg3sx5a

— Womenscouncilireland (@NWCI) April 15, 2024