A willingness to conduct abortions is one of the requirements for an open consultant position in Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and another for Anaesthesia, at the National Maternity Hospital. That’s according to an advertisement for the positions which appeared in national newspapers last week. This effectively bars pro-life doctors with an ethical objection to the procedure from applying for the post.

The advertisement states that candidates for the positions will provide patient care and other duties “which as of 2019 includes elective terminations of pregnancy services and the post-holders will be expected to contribute to this new service as part of their practice plan”.

A statement from the NMH said the posts were being funded specifically from a financial allocation to the hospital from the Health Service Executive for the “provision of termination-of-pregnancy services, and are for individuals willing to contribute to the provision of these services”. A hospital source said the posts could not therefore be open to doctors who are unwilling to carry out abortions.

He added that the doctors involved would be expected to carry out only a small number of surgical abortions and that their duties would be mostly the ones normally expected in a maternity hospital of an anaesthetist or an obstetrician.