How easy is it to get an abortion in Ireland?

Question

Does it cost anything?
Is it more or less difficult than in Northern Ireland, Wales, England or Scotland?
Is there much opposition to abortion in Ireland?

Answer 1

It isn't



Abortion is banned in Ireland, there are very limited circumstances in which one can be obtained but the life of the mother must be danger, it's such a grey area very few medical practitioners would be willing to perform one



You can get information but not an abortion - not a legal one any way



It's much easier to procure an abortion in Great Britain, which is the solution most Irish women or women from Northern Ireland opt for



Abortion is not legal in Northern Ireland, it is only legal in exceptional circumstances where the life of the pregnant woman is at immediate risk and if there is a long term or permanent risk to her physical or mental health.





edit: Of all the rubbish answers Alan M has given this one has to be a prize winner - abortion is NOT allowed in Northern Ireland, women in Northern Ireland are in an even worse position then those in the Republic & the legislation governing abortion in Northern Ireland is positively draconian, it dates back to the 1780s



I think you'll find when it comes to opinion on abortion in the Republic, the Pro-Choice lobby believe its time to have a rational discussion on the subject & another referendum while the Pro-Life lobby are of the opinion everything is fine & dandy, we're all against it & want to keep the subject swept under the carpet with all the other cr*p we don't want to face up to

Answer 2

You must not be from Ireland, or you would know that it's illegal to get an abortion in Ireland. It's on the State Constitution.



So to answer your question, it's currently impossible to get a legal abortion in the Republic of Ireland or Northern Ireland. Many Irish women to go England to terminate their pregnancies, but I can't tell you about Wales or Scotland.



Personally I think that abortion is a necessary evil, and that it's wrong to ban it. However, if it were to be made available in Ireland, there should be many specific conditions attached. I would NOT like to see women use it as a means of birth control, not when there are so many other options available.

Answer 3

It is virtually impossible to get an abortion or termination of pregnancy (to give the procedure its correct term) in Ireland. Only in very rare circumstances where the life of the mother is in immediate grave danger should the pregnancy continue is termination permitted. This is due to our constitution not allowing abortion. You cannot "pay" to have an abortion here it would be illegal.



That doesn't mean women in Ireland don't have abortions they just have to travel to the UK or Europe and pay to have the operation there. Around 5000 women a year travel abroad for this reason and a mini-industry has grown up around this, the clinics themselves, airports and taxi companies all benefit from the steady flow of desperate women having to leave the country. In the UK abortion is available both on the NHS and and privately so therefore is much more accessible.



There would be opposition to "abortion" in Ireland because most people are brought up Catholic and it goes against their way of thinking/believing to abort babies, they believe in the right to life at all costs. If you are not Catholic you still have to abide by these rules which I believe is unjust.



If men could became pregnant I am sure there would be morning after pill vending machines in every pub in the land and abortion on demand. Women were treated as second class citizens for a long time in Ireland. Access to contraception and divorce are fairly recent advances here. I don't suppose many women relished the though of being pregnant for the 10th time in as many years? I could be wrong.



A lot of propaganda by the Pro Life organisations show horrific photographs of foetuses where a late mid trimester abortion has been performed which tends to cloud people's judgement. Most abortions are done before 10-12 weeks when the foetus is tiny and cannot survive outside of its mothers body.



However nowadays many people do believe it is the woman's right to choose what should happen to her body and if she is accidentally pregnant when she doesn't choose to be ie due to rape or failed contraception or if the baby has severe birth defects then she should be allowed to have an abortion, the earlier the better, if that is her choice.



Edit @ david d you are kidding yourself if you think Irish women don't "kill the unborn" of course they do, they are just not allowed to do it in Ireland they are forced to travel abroad. I suppose you think its great that teenage girls are getting pregnant with no means of supporting themselves and end up on welfare and being given council houses at the taxpayers' expense?

Answer 4

We actually voted for abortion in certain tightly restricted circumstances in the last referendum, but unfortunately our politicians have been too spineless to formulate and enact the required legislation. Thus medical practitioners are in a legal blind spot where they could face prosecution if they terminated a pregnancy, even in one of the instances where it has already been judged to be lawful, ie ectopic pregnancy, cervical cancer, risk to the life of the mother through suicide or through pregnancy-related illnesses.



There is continued opposition to abortion in Ireland, although it is a much more open issue that it once was and younger generations are less outraged by it. There is also a strong pro-choice movement actively campaigning for legislation to deal with the matter. Of the political parties, only Labour and Mary Harney openly back bringing in the legislation required to enact the 2002 referendum, Enda Kenny has stated that he would not introduce legislation for abortion that would put the rights of the mother above those of the foetus, nailing his misogynist colours to the mast. Fianna Fail have repeatedly failed to bring in any legislation despite presiding over the most recent referendum. I am unaware of the stance of the Greens or SF.

Answer 5

It is illegal to get an abortion in Ireland except in extreme cases when the mothers life is in danger. Personally I think women should have the right to chose. I may not completely agree with it but thats my choice other women should have the choice to chose also what is best for there circumstances. I dont think its right that if lets say a young girl is raped and gets pregnant is given no choice of if she wants to keep the baby or not. And I dont think any woman should be called a "murderer" for making a decision about her own life.

Answer 6

Its illegal in southern Ireland as the Pope rules this part and wants to increase his disciples to make money. In Northern Ireland as with the rest of the Uk and world the womens life is considered important and she has choice. The clinics in N. Ireland are full every day of Irish people getting a abortion. The Pope cannot control the peoples freedom here. Women are respected and treated as equals not forced to have a baby that perhaps was forced on them for example rape.

Answer 7

Abortion, or to give it it's correct term "Killing a human life" is only available in extreme circumstances, where the life of the mother is so at risk that it is nessessary to save the mother, rather than lose mother and child.

Some ignorant people want to blame this ban on the 'catholic church', which is nonsense. We Irish have a different respect for life. We don't start wars, invade countries, or kill the unborn, unlike so many backward 'developed' countries. If only the rest of Europe had the same respect for life as the Irish, our collective history would be a lot less bloody.



--The 'Woman's right to choose' lobby has a flawed argument. The human growing inside the mother may very well be female, what about 'her' right to choose life ??



Thankfully, the younger generation of Irish people are not fooled by the pro-choice argument that a human foetus is not human. They know better.

Answer 8

abortion is wrong! its murder