The Government's erratic and divisive response to the abortion issue has contributed directly to the violation of women's human rights and put their lives at risk.
It has also created a "climate of fear and shame" that has deepened the emotional trauma and despair felt by women with crisis pregnancies, according to a new report by Human Rights Watch.
A State of Isolation: Access to Abortion for Women in Ireland, which was published today, calls for the immediate decriminalisation of abortion for all women and the development of a new national regulatory framework to guarantee access to legal abortion.
"Women in need of abortion services should, as a matter of international law and -frankly- human decency, be able to count on support from their government as they face a difficult situation. But in Ireland they are actively stonewalled, stigmatised and written out," said Marianne Mollmann, woman's advocacy director at Human Rights Watch.
The report calls on the State to pass new laws ensuring "truthful and objective" information on abortion is available to all women and take action against "rogue" agencies that disseminate misleading information to pregnant women.
The report, which was compiled following interviews with 13 women with crisis pregnancies in Ireland, details several examples of rogue agencies providing incorrect information to women.
One woman described how she attended a crisis pregnancy agency called British Alternatives, which had been advertised in the Golden Pages. She said the agency first asked about the possibility of adoption and then left her to watch a video of an ultrasound of a baby. She was then asked how she would feel if she "killed the baby".
"Nothing tipped me off about whether they were pro-life. I was in a state and just looking for something friendly. British Alternatives sounded very friendly," she told Human Rights Watch.
The report criticises the Government for "sabotaging" women's health decisions by using injunctions to prevent individuals from travelling abroad for abortion. It says the lack of legal or policy guidelines on when an abortion might be legally performed - for example when the life of a mother is in danger - means some doctors are reluctant to provide pre-screening for foetal abnormalities.