32 Cavan women had abortions in UK last year

A total of 32 women gave their address as having travelled from Co Cavan in the Republican of Ireland to Britain for an abortion last year, official UK figures have revealed.

At more than nine a day, records show 3,451 women gave an address in the Republic when attending clinics in England and Wales in 2015, but the number has still fallen to the lowest level 1980.

According to the annual report published by the Department of Health, women from the Republic account for two out of three non-residents attending clinics in England and Wales, while those from Northern Ireland accounted for a further 16 per cent (833).

 

Neighbouring counties

The HSE Crisis Pregnancy Agency this week welcomed the drop in numbers, which is down on recent years too, when 3,679 women travelled in 2013 and 3,735 in 2014.

But they say that unplanned pregnancy and abortion remain a reality for many women living in Ireland.

The HSE state that free crisis pregnancy counselling services are available at more than 50 locations around the country, as are free post-abortion medical check-ups and post-abortion counselling.

Elsewhere in Ulster, a total of 19 women gave their address as Co Monaghan when travelling to Britain for an abortion, and 67 from Donegal.

In other neighbouring counties, 17 women were registered as having travelled from Co Leitrim, 23 from Co Longford, 56 from Co Westmeath, 94 from Co Louth and 141 from Co Meath.

National, Dublin had the highest number of cases where women gave their address as being in the Capital, at 1,311.

 

18 under 16-years

Further detail on the women who travelled from the Republic to England and Wales last year for such procedures showed that 18 were under the age of 16 years old.

Some 46 per cent of women who gave Irish addresses at clinic were said to be aged in their 20s, and 37 per cent were listed as aged in their 30s.

Of the total number of Irish women to travel to Britain for an abortion, 135 were performed under ground E, where there is “a substantial risk that if the child were born it would suffer from such physical or mental abnormalities as to be seriously handicapped”.

This category includes a wide range of medical conditions – including anencephaly, spina bifida, cleft lip and palate, Down’s Syndrome, Edward’s Syndrome and cystic fibrosis.

The report showed that 2,374 of the abortions carried out were in the first nine weeks of pregnancy, and that 112 were carried out after 20 weeks or more.

Some 644 women were said to have been married or in a civil partnership, and 916 were single.

All of the procedures on Irish-resident women were privately funded.

 

More services needed

Abortion is legal in the UK up to 24 weeks under the Abortion Act 1967. However, if there is a substantial risk to the woman's life or foetal abnormalities, there is no time limit. There is also no age limit for treatment.

Abortion in Ireland is illegal unless it occurs as the result of a medical intervention performed to save the life of the mother. It is currently regulated by the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013. Unborn life has constitutional protection in Article 40.3.3°, which was inserted in 1983 by the Eighth Amendment. Information on abortion services outside the state is also constitutionally protected, and is regulated by the Regulation of Information (Services Outside the State For Termination of Pregnancies) Act, 1995.

Abortion Rights Campaign (ARC) claim there is too much ambiguity behind why there has been a drop in numbers, stating that Ireland must take action now to provide free, safe and legal abortion services.

Spokesperson for the organisation, Linda Kavanagh said in a statement to The Anglo-Celt: “Although the number of women from Ireland seeking abortion in England and Wales has declined year on year since 2001, the reality is that we have no idea what the reasons behind this decline are. While some of this may be down to improved access to contraception, particularly the emergency contraceptive pill, it is also likely that significant numbers of women are still feeling the impact of the recession.”

 

A list of crisis pregnancy services is available on www.positiveoptions.ie. A list of post-abortion services is available on www.abortionaftercare.ie