Government “failing women” after RTÉ documentary shows lapses in abortion services

A Prime Time documentary about abortion services in Ireland has led to accusations that Government parties have not done enough to advance abortion services in Ireland since the 8th Amendment was repealed in 2018.

The documentary showed the difficulties still faced by women to attain an abortion in Ireland despite the practice being legalised and liberalised in 2018.

The Prime Time documentary showed that a number of unregulated services, which pose as legitimate pregnancy agency services, operate in Ireland.

One scene from the documentary showed a firm operating on Parnell Street in Dublin.

Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly said he will raise the issue at Cabinet about bringing in new measures to tackle “essentially false services that are tricking women and fooling women about their abortion rights.”

Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns said the programme was “difficult to watch.”

“Six years after the Repeal vote, we are still failing women who are being forced to travel to the UK for care,” she said.

“I do not believe that people in this country want women, at the most traumatic moment of their lives, to be forced to go abroad and suffer in this unimaginable way. In fact, I believe that most people voted Yes with the express purpose of ending this cruel and degrading treatment of women.”

She called on Simon Harris, who was Minister for Health during the Repeal vote, to tackle the issue.

“Repeal was seismic, but the law that was enacted in its wake is not working in the way we need it to. And the Government is well aware of its inadequacies. It has now been sitting on its own expert report, which laid out all of the problems with the law, for a year; how much longer is the Government going to wait before acting on this report? How many more women have to suffer? How much more pain and grief will they endure?”

Cairns said that Harris, in his role as Taoiseach, should remove the “patronising and patriarchal mandatory three-day waiting period.”

She also called for the removal of the criminalisation of medics and clarification of the law surrounding foetal abnormalities.

“As legislators, we are the only ones who can resolve the problems with the law. We have a duty to act. The Social Democrats will work with the Taoiseach to ensure that reform of the law can be fast-tracked and completed in lifetime of this Government.”

Labour Senator Annie Hoey said that Government parties are “kicking the can down the road” on issues surrounding abortion.

“The stories which emerged in the RTÉ Investigates programme were absolutely barbaric, it beggars belief that we are still having these conversations – it is a disgrace that women are still forced to travel to access essential services,” she said.

“Government is failing these women, who deserve compassion and care. Almost six years since Ireland voted to repeal the 8th amendment, it is clear that there are gaps in the provision of care.”

She noted that a report was completed last year discussing how abortion services can be reformed in Ireland, but the report is “gathering dust.”

“Women are being forced to travel, while the report gathers dust and it is simply not good enough,” she stated.

“Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil need to stop kicking the can down the road and fix the policy gaps. Government must implement the findings of the O’Shea report. They must also legislation for safe access zones and regulation of pregnancy