Sir, – Your news report indicates that the three-day period for reflection may be removed from the Irish abortion legislation on foot of the completion of a review (“Review calls for Ireland’s abortion rules to be relaxed”, News, March 29th). This would be a step in the wrong direction.
Unfortunately, the Government has shown no interest in justifying why this measure has been included in the laws in the first place, and has instead talked about the “problems” associated with the three-day waiting period.
It is important to remember that the 2018 referendum was won on the basis of promised legislation which included the three-day waiting period. Many people, including senior Cabinet member Simon Coveney, voted Yes based on the promise of safeguards like the three-day wait.
To now remove this section due mostly to intensive lobbying by pro-abortion interest groups would represent a serious democratic deficit.
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The fact is that the three-day period was included in the legislation in recognition of the reality that abortion is a very serious and life-ending procedure. Because unplanned pregnancies can prompt a reaction based on an often stressful situation, it was recognised that safeguards should be in place to prevent an immediate but irreversible decision which may later be regretted. The three-day waiting period was established to give women a short but vital period of reflection, during which time they can receive supports or seek further advice. This is critical to ensuring that we have informed consent.
Even for medical procedures that are intended to heal rather than to take life, the importance of time for reflection is acknowledged. Medical Council guidelines acknowledge that a doctor “should also give the patient enough time before the treatment to consider their options and reach a decision”. It continues, a doctor “should not usually seek consent from a patient when they are stressed, sedated or in pain”.
In the first three years since the introduction of legal abortion in 2019, we know that almost 4,000 women who made a first appointment did not subsequently take up the second and final appointment. There are various reasons for this, but the data presents a strong case that thousands of women availed of the three-day period to reflect on their options and ultimately opted to proceed with their pregnancies.
We know that HSE MyOptions counsellors often encourage women who are unsure of their decision to utilise the full value of the three-day waiting period for reflection, reviewing one’s options, and receiving advice.
The Government has utterly failed to offer women in unplanned pregnancies with meaningful supports, a task which has fallen by default to private charities and support organisations. This is simply not good enough. If the Government is serious about reviewing the impact of Ireland’s abortion policy, it must begin to provide pregnant women with real supports, and not strip away the short period of time to consider a life-changing decision. – Yours, etc,
EILÍS MULROY,
Pro Life Campaign,
Dublin 2.