The Medical Council has issued new ethics guidelines that take account of the change in law regarding abortion. New abortion legislation was introduced in January permitting abortion on wide grounds and requiring pro-life doctors to refer women seeking abortions to doctor willing to facilitate that. The new ethics guidelines strengthen that requirement. The section on end of life care still prohibits the deliberate killing of patients in that context.

In respect of abortion, the guidelines state that ‘Termination of Pregnancy is legally permissible within the provisions of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018’ and add that ‘You have a duty to provide care, support and follow-up for women who have had a termination of pregnancy.’