An increasing number of women are attempting “amateur abortions” at home, the Irish Family Planning 
Association (IFPA) has claimed.
Dr Caitríona Henchion, medical director for the IFPA, at a press conference to discuss the Government’s proposed abortion legislation, said that one of their Dublin clinics had seen three such women in the first three months of this year, the Irish Times reports.
The women had taken abortion-inducing medication which can be used in the first few weeks of pregnancy.
Dr Henichion, speaking after the formal briefing, was asked whether the the association was seeing women who had attempted abortions at home.
“Yes, we have certainly seen women who have taken on-line medications at home,” she said. “This year alone we have had three cases of women who have not been successful in their attempted terminations”
“There certainly seems to be an increase in this and it seems highly likely it’s down to financial reasons.
“In one case one chose to travel (to England) to have a full termination. In two of the cases there had been incomplete terminations and they were referred to services her for further treatment .”
Dr Henichion said it was difficult to know whether they had taken the medication incorrectly, whether they had taken it at the wrong gestation, or, whether the medication they had been told they were being sent was not in fact what they received in the post.
So called “abortion kits” can be purchased on-line, containing the drugs Mifepristone and Misoprostol. It is illegal both to import these without a license and also to take them unless directed by a doctor.
It was particularly dangerous, said Dr Henichion, to take these without medical supervision, as the woman may bleed and have contraction and so believe the abortion has taken place, when in fact it may not have. “Bleeding, infection and failure of the procedure are the main risks.”
The IFPA itself is currently being investigated by HSE.
As reported by The Irish Independent, two Dublin branches of the IFPA in Tallaght and Cathal Brugha Street told women they could conceal their abortions from doctors.
The paper also reported: “At the Tallaght and Cork branches of the IFPA, women were told how to get an abortion pill, which is illegal here, by smuggling it into the State through Northern Ireland.
“The HSE has confirmed that crisis pregnancy counsellors should not provide information on how to get the abortion pill.
“The pills induce an abortion by causing a miscarriage. They should only be taken under medical supervision because they can cause bleeding, severe infection or, in rare instances, death.
“A leading constitutional lawyer, Paul Anthony McDermott, has said that telling somebody how to access and take an illegal drug could be seen as ‘aiding and abetting a crime’.”