Coming up to the sixth anniversary of Ireland repealing the Eighth Amendment and legalising abortion, women are still being forced to travel outside of the country to access adequate facilities.

Doctors, human rights groups and women’s rights groups have come together to call for a drastic improvement in Ireland’s abortion facilities. After over half a decade of its legality, “Urgent action” has been requested, following the findings in an independent report presented to the Oireachtas.

The report recommended that the mandatory three-day waiting period between requesting a pregnancy termination and enacting it should be removed, as well as the 12-week limit on termination to be reviewed. It was also found that the West and South of Ireland had almost no abortion services as well as most of the establishments which do provide abortions, do not have safe access points.

“In 2018, Ireland voted to provide compassionate care for women at home. This 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”, said Orla O’Connor, director of the National Women’s Council of Ireland.

Only 2% of women seeking abortion choose not to progress after the initial consultancy and mandatory waiting process of three days, meaning 98% of women did not change their minds after this wait. The open letter also details the restrictions of waiting times, the lack of local facilities and the 12-week limit on termination. Because of these delays, women who have started the abortion process within 12 weeks of conception have been cut off from abortion services, as they now fall outside of the limit.

Abortion law in Ireland still contains a criminal risk if an abortion is performed beyond 12 weeks with sanctions for the clinic and a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison for the mother. This independent report describes that criminalising abortion has caused facilities to be overcautious and deny abortions to women who are near the time limit.

These shortcomings of the Irish abortion system, have once again forced women to seek termination options elsewhere to protect their personal safety and to expedite the lengthy Irish process. Last year, Leo Varadkar said he would like to see “fewer abortions in Ireland”, despite services for those that do require terminations evidently lacking.

Elsewhere on District: After three years, abortion services have been commissioned in Northern Ireland