A woman was denied an abortion by doctors at the Coombe last week as the child was suffering from a condition that was not fatal under the terms of the new abortion law, according to the hospital.  The new law says a condition is fatal if it is likely the baby will die within 28 days of birth.

In a diagnostic report, doctors wrote that the child was suffering from a foetal anomaly known as an exomphalos, where organs develop outside the abdominal wall. They later wrote to the woman to say her unborn child’s condition could not be considered fatal and was not eligible for abortion under the ‘Condition likely to lead to death of foetus’ section of the 2018 Act.

Nonetheless, the woman maintained that she was told by doctors initially that her child was suffering from a ‘fatal’ anomaly. It was reported on Friday that she was planning on going to England for an abortion.

Despite the significant change in the story, one of the TDs who initially brought up the case in the Dail, Brid Smith, continued to speculate that the law criminalising limited abortions was having a ‘chilling effect’ on hospitals and preventing abortions that would otherwise take place.

Ms Smith had named the woman, and the town where she lived, on the floor of the Dail on Thursday. She was criticised by Kate O’Connell, TD for Fine Gael, who said the intervention was “ill-judged” and “irresponsible”.