The head of Ireland’s recent Government-ordered review of the abortion law, which recommended radical and sweeping changes including full decriminalisation, has been attacked by the Pro-Life Campaign for comments she made yesterday at an Oireachtas committee.

The current law has a mandatory three-day waiting period before a woman has an abortion. Under questioning, Marie O’Shea, the chair of the recent review, told the committee that she was unaware of  any other country with a similar waiting period.

Responding, Pro Life Campaign spokesperson Eilís Mulroy said:

“When queried by Senator Martin Conway on whether other countries have a mandatory waiting period similar to Ireland’s, the chairperson of the review, Ms O’Shea, answered that she was not aware of any.  This is a shocking oversight on the part of the supposed expert-led review. Many countries internationally have mandatory waiting periods which aim to provide women with sufficient time to reflect on whether to have an abortion, as a way to mitigate against abortion regret and ensure that informed consent is achieved. Along with other countries, Belgium has a mandatory six-day waiting period, whilst Germany has a mandatory three-day waiting period and counselling.”