The Abortion Rights Campaign welcomes the vote to scrap the paternalistic mandatory 3-day waiting period.
This particular barrier to abortion care was never suggested by the Citizens Assembly or the Oireachtas committee, but added as a sop to reluctant politicians to make them “more comfortable” with legal abortion. We refuse to allow political comfort to be prioritised over women’s healthcare anymore.
The 3-day waiting period compounded the limitations of our 12 week limit to abortion access. We know that this forced delay of healthcare and pushed some people past the time limit for legal abortion in Ireland.
The World Health Organization considers mandatory waiting periods as a significant barrier to accessing abortion care. Spain abolished its mandatory waiting period in 2023, while the Netherlands removed theirs in 2022. This Bill brings Ireland closer to international best practice for abortion care. The government must now ensure that the 3-day waiting period is abolished without unnecessary delays and spurious additions.
We expect that both government and opposition TDs will take on other recommendations of the O’Shea report. In 2023, the government commissioned a mandatory review into the abortion legislation, led by barrister Marie O’Shea. Over 7,000 public and expert submissions were made to this research. The report found significant barriers to care and made numerous recommendations.
That report has been continually ignored by the government and undermined in the debate. It is wholly disrespectful to invite people to share details of deeply personal experiences and then ignore the findings. We are tired of having to tell tragic stories to make change in this country.
Unfortunately, this legislation does not address the myriad of issues that remain with our abortion legislation, which forces 240 people a year to travel elsewhere to get healthcare they should get at home.
We will not let this legislation be watered down at committee stage. Abortion access with fewer barriers is a positive change. Ireland is one step closer to free, safe, legal and local abortion access today, but we must keep the pressure on our TDs to bring this amendment to the law to term.
