Discussions on reviewing or changing abortion legislation may not be completed before the Dáil rises for the summer recess in July, it has been suggested.
It comes as the Department of Health published a lengthy review of current abortion legislation that was put in place in 2019.
The report, conducted by barrister Marie O’Shea, was published on Wednesday morning. It contained more legislative recommendations for the Government and technical recommendations for the HSE.
READ MORE: Taoiseach says number of hospitals offering abortion is 'not good enough'
One of the most talked about recommendations is the suggestion to remove the three-day wait period. This is the time between when a woman is certified as being less than 12 weeks pregnant and receiving abortion medication.
The report stated that as termination of pregnancy services “are not configured to run 365 days a year, the three-day wait can extend to a four or five day wait for treatment”.
It added: “It is compounded by the need to complete terminations before the pregnancy exceeds 12 weeks.”
It said that it can be “challenging” for some people to schedule multiple appointments and can “impose a physical and psychological burden on women”.
It also noted that as abortion is only available up to 12 weeks, the three day wait period can cause some women to “time” out.
A study from 2019 found that of 475 people who attended an initial doctor’s appointment, just 11 did not return after the three day period.`
The report recommends that the existing legislation be amended so that a pregnant woman “has a statutory right to a reflection period, which she may exercise, at her own discretion”.
It also says that the 12 week period should be extended for a “specific period” if the three day period or an inability to make an appointment prevents someone from accessing abortion services.
Speaking on RTÉ’s News at One, Health Minister Donnelly declined to give his personal view, saying that he did not want to “unduly influence” the Oireachtas Health Committee who must now scrutinise the report.
He said: “I have a very clear priority to make sure that these health care services are as accessible and as safe and as good for women in Ireland as possible, whilst, critically. being very cognisant that when we voted to repeal [...] there were criteria that people understood would be included, including this three days.”
The report also recommended that legislation should be changed to “support the recruitment process to positively discriminate in favour of persons willing to provide termination of pregnancy services in settings where there are no providers or the numbers are so low that the service is untenable”.
It also says that it should be “amended to include a provision obliging suitably qualified medical practitioners to perform a termination of pregnancy in emergency situations where there is an immediate risk to the pregnant woman’s life or health”. This should be done, the report says, to “mitigate against the risk that a conscientious objector” may not provide a termination.
The report will now be referred to the Oireachtas Health Committee for consideration. However, senior Government sources told the Irish Mirror that this discussion could last for weeks if not months.
They believe it is unlikely that any decision or votes will be taken before the Dáil rises for the summer in July.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dáil that the Government has “made no decision whatsoever on any of the legislative proposals”.
Between 2019 and 2021, 17,820 abortions were carried out. Some 8,500 pregnancies were terminated last year.
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