Sir, – Breda O’Brien’s claim that there has been an “astonishing rise” in abortion services accessed by women in the Republic of Ireland since the repeal of the Eighth Amendment is misplaced (“In Ireland, you can tell people abortion figures won’t rise and still be unaccountable when they double”, Opinion & Analysis, July 13th).
The statistic of 3,019 women from the Republic accessing abortion in England and Wales in 2017 refers only to the number of women who gave addresses in the Republic. Many others provided the UK addresses of family, friends or supporters. This practice was well-identified over many years when abortion was illegal here. Similarly, the number of women who used abortion pills prior to repeal cannot be accurately determined.
When I was appointed in October 2018 by then-minister for health Simon Harris to coordinate the implementation of abortion services after the vote to repeal the Eighth Amendment, I estimated that we should plan for 10,000 terminations annually before 12 weeks, with 80 per cent of those before nine weeks once the service was embedded. This was based on the figures in Scotland and Norway, two neighbouring countries with populations similar to Ireland in size and distribution, with numbers adjusted for the Irish population. The Department of Health and the HSE agreed with these figures and planned accordingly.
In 2019, 6,666 women accessed abortion services in the State. UK Government statistics show that 375 women giving Republic of Ireland addresses sought abortion services in England and Wales in the same year, and a further unknown number gave a UK address. At the time, patchy provision of services across the country and lingering stigma were identified as factors in women continuing to travel outside the State. The 2019 figures, therefore, also understate the true position.
Bodies by Christine Anne Foley: a slippery, shape-shifting story about the indignities of modern dating
Trump shooting suspect: FBI finds few red flags on would-be assassin
Do you often tell people how busy you are? Here’s why you should stop
Ireland v South Africa: ‘When you get a win like that it makes your summer. It’s not an exaggeration’
As was the case globally, fewer women sought abortion services in 2020 and 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic for a variety of reasons including a decline in the pregnancy rate, travel and financial barriers, fear of infection, and privacy concerns. The effects of the pandemic lingered into 2022, reducing the numbers accessing services in that year also.
As abortion services in the Republic of Ireland have become established over the past five years, we see that the figure for 10,033 abortions in 2023 is exactly in line with what was predicted in 2018, or rather less considering the 8 per cent growth in population from 4,885,000 to 5,281,000 during those years. The 2023 figures represent a rate of 18.3 per 10,000 population.
Meanwhile, there were 18,207 abortions in Scotland in 2023 in a population of 5,463,000, a rate of 33 per 10,000.
Norway recorded 12,814 abortions in 2023 in a population of 5,474,000, a rate of 23 per 10,000.
Far from abortion numbers in Ireland being in any way astonishing, they are in line with, or slightly below, the numbers that were expected after repeal of the Eighth Amendment, and less than the numbers in comparator countries. This is exactly what was predicted and planned for in 2018. – Yours, etc,
Dr PETER BOYLAN,
Former chair,
Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists,
Dublin 6.