Claire ordered drugs online and had an abortion at home. This is her story...

AS THOUSANDS of anti-choice protesters gathered for a vigil in Dublin last week, a woman in the west of Ireland was anxiously awaiting the illegal delivery of abortifacient drugs.

Claire (not her real name) was not raped, the pregnancy did not pose a real and substantial risk to her life, and she was not suicidal, although she does suffer from depression.

Even when X case legislation is eventually passed, she would never meet the very restrictive grounds to access abortion services in this country. Yet, in desperation, she found a way to induce one in her own home on Thursday. Ordinarily, Claire’s story wouldn’t count for much. It’s not something that’s discussed in the media. It’s completely ignored by politicians and, because she didn’t travel to the UK, it’s not even worth a statistic.