Highlighting at least 775 women who travelled abroad for an abortion even after the procedure was legalised here, the National Women’s Council of Ireland have re-issued a call for abortion to be decriminalised in its entirety.

NWCI Director Orla O’Connor said while “many women have been able to access this care since 2019 and this is applauded, there are too many women and pregnant people who still don’t have access due to systemic barriers, particularly the most marginalised”.

In relation to those who still travel abroad for abortions she said: “The medical providers are telling us the main reasons that they are travelling is the narrowness of the 12 week (limit) is causing a problem”.

“And then the other reason is for couples (with a fatal foetal anomaly diagnosis), and we’re really hearing heart breaking stories from couples, where the doctors have to predict that the foetus will die within 28 days of foetal anomaly, and doctors are saying that that is just too rigid. They can’t say exactly what day the foetus might die, so couples are still traveling with fatal foetal anomaly.”