Reproductive rights are under attack around the world, and while small gains have been made in Ireland since the repeal of the 8th Amendment, the Government has continued to fail to deliver free, safe, legal, local and accessible abortion services for all who need them.
As it stands, abortion in Ireland is available up to 12 weeks only, and a pre-abortion consultation must be carried out at least three days before accessing the service. These restrictions add additional pressures for people seeking abortion and can be invasive, shame-inducing, and give space for rogue pregnancy services to peddle their misinformation, lies, and fear-mongering.
The current approach assumes ignorance and wrong-doing on the part of the patient. The lack of a person and patient-centric approach to abortion leads those wishing to seek abortion to delaying access and forces many women and girls to travel to England.
We believe abortions should be available throughout pregnancy for anyone who wants or needs one, free from stigma and shame, without apology or restriction. We support the Abortion Rights Campaign and their continued work campaigning on this issue. We joined them and other activists on 24 September at 12:45 p.m. outside the Dáil to show the Government that anything less than free, safe, legal, accessible and local abortions for everyone who needs them, when they need them, leaves far too many people behind.
