The Marie Stopes family planning clinic is taking legal advice over the refusal of the Golden Pages to publish an advertisement for its services in the 2004 directory.
The clinic, which offers family planning advice as well as crisis-pregnancy and post abortion counselling, has advertised in the phone directory for the past number of years, using the name Marie Stopes Reproductive Choices.
In the current directory it is listed under Reproductive Choices, having dropped the name Marie Stopes at the request of the Golden Pages.
This year Marie Stopes Reproductive Choices (MSRC) has been told by the Golden Pages that it will not be able to advertise in the 2004 directory unless it can prove it has no legal link with Marie Stopes International (MSI) in Britain. Among the services offered by MSI in Britain are abortions.
A spokeswoman for the Golden Pages said that according to the 1995 Regulation of Information Act, it could not accept advertising that contained information "that is likely to be required by a woman for the purpose of availing herself of services provided outside the State for the termination of a pregnancy".
She agreed the Golden Pages had been carrying ads from MSRC since then and had, until last year, used the Marie Stopes name.
"What has changed is that we have been advised by our legal department that we cannot accept advertising from them unless they can certify there is no link with Marie Stopes UK."
She said the directory was "awaiting feedback from Reproductive Choices".
Ms Deirdre Jones, manager of MSRC in Dublin said although the clinic used the Marie Stopes name "we are not connected".
"They are happy for us to use their name and we give out information about them - their addresses and phone numbers - but we are not providing the same services as them. We are not connected."
She said MSRC was no different to other well-known family-planning services such as the Irish Family Planning Association or the Well-Woman Centres. The clinic never made appointments or referrals for abortions, she said, but provided counselling and information for woman to make their own appointments if they chose.
The Golden Pages spokeswoman said the directory was not interested in the details of the services provided at MSRC.
"We need to be satisfied there is no legal link between Reproductive Choices and an organisation providing abortion services outside the State. So far we are not satisfied of that."
Ms Jones said MSRC believed Golden Pages "just doesn't want to take our advertising".
She said staff would meet next week to discuss whether to take a legal challenge against Golden Pages or to use its advertising budget elsewhere.
The deadline for inclusion in the 2004 Golden Pages' (01) edition is next Friday.
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