There are “difficulties” with a Social Democrats Bill to enact reforms of abortion legislation, the Cabinet has been told.
The Dáil is to debate a Bill from Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns on Wednesday that would enact recommendations of a 2023 report into existing legislation, which came into effect after Ireland voted to liberalise its laws on terminations in a landmark referendum in 2018.
Ms Cairns said the Bill would provide clarity on terminations for medical reasons, including fatal foetal abnormalities, remove an existing three-day waiting period between GP consultations prior to a termination and end the “criminalisation of doctors”.
However, the Government said some of these provisions would be “problematic” for legal and operational reasons as well as concern over “unintended consequences”.
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The provisions of the Bill arise out of a senior barrister’s review of abortion laws, which recommended a series of operational and legislative changes to the system.
Marie O’Shea recommended the removal of a mandatory three-day waiting period between a woman’s initial medical consultation and her being given access to abortion treatment or medication.
Her review also recommended the threat of criminal sanction be removed for medics found to have acted outside the provisions of the abortion legislation.
On Tuesday, the Government press office said it had agreed a free vote on the matter among its members.
However, it said the Department of Health had considered each of the Bill’s provisions and engaged with “relevant stakeholders” including the HSE and the Attorney General.
It said: “Difficulties with some of the provisions were identified.
“The feedback received, identified that some of the proposed amendments are unnecessary and can (and are) addressed through the existing legal framework, while others would be problematic from an operational and legal perspective.
“Specifically, issues such as decriminalisation for medical practitioners, the revised criteria for termination for medical reasons, and the introduction of ministerial guidelines for clinical practice present significant difficulties.”
The Government said “significant progress” has been made since the publication of the O’Shea Review in terms of increasing access to services.
It pointed to termination services in early pregnancy now being provided in all 19 maternity hospitals (up from 11 at the time of the report’s publication) and a “sustained increase” in community providers.
It added that one of the two consultations required for termination in early pregnancy can take place remotely.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is to address the matter during the debate.
In a statement Cairns said that she was “surprised” to receive the feedback from the Department of Health.
“All of the amendments in my legislation come from an expert review of the current law, which was commissioned by the government and published three years ago.
“That review found that women are still being forced to travel abroad, when they receive a diagnosis of fatal foetal abnormality; that the three-day mandatory wait period had been criticised by both medics and women as a barrier to care; and the criminalisation of doctors led to overly cautious and risk-averse decision making, which could negatively impact women’s care.”
“My legislation is not radical, it is reasonable, necessary and long-overdue. I hope the government work with me to progress it to committee stage, where detailed pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill can be conducted,” she added.
