The risks to women will dramatically increase if regulations that require women to see a doctor before using the abortion pill are suspended from the current law, introduced last year.

That’s according to the Pro-Life Campaign who were responding to Minister for Health Simon Harris telling the Dáil last night that he will move to revise the existing ‘Model of Care’ under which a doctor must certify an abortion first.

Minister Harris made his remarks while rejecting amendments from Opposition TDs to the COVID-19 related Emergency Measures Bill, which were along the same lines to what the Minister himself proposed, permitting ‘home abortions’ without any physical consultation between the woman and prescribing doctor.

Responding to the Minister’s dramatic announcement, Pro Life Campaign spokesperson Eilís Mulroy said:

“It is wholly unacceptable the way Minister Harris slipped in his proposed changes to the Model of Care without any broad or prior consultation. An almost identical proposal to what he presented was roundly rejected earlier this week in Westminster parliament out of concern for the adverse effect it could have on the welfare and safety of women. It was pointed out in that wide-ranging debate that at a minimum before any abortion was signed off on, there should be at least one face to face consultation between the woman and her doctor to ensure there were no issues that could endanger the woman’s health or life.

“Without any reference to concerns like these, Minister Harris told the Dáil last night that for the duration of the COVID-19 crisis, he is satisfied that the examination of the woman prior to any abortion as set out in Section 12 of the abortion Act could be ‘carried out by other means, for example, by telemedicine or video conference.’”