A State apology was necessary, but the mothers, daughters, sisters, wives, and families caught up in the CervicalCheck scandal need to know that it will never happen again.

Every single thing always seems to come down to money, be that cuts or a potential return on investment. But where does culture fit into that equation, be that in the music we listen to or the public venues in which we gather, asks Joyce Fegan

Safer maternity care, better supports and increased staffing levels are needed to tackle a “very serious gender discrimination” in health services.

Saturday marks the completion of a two-year rollout of national standards to ensure that parents who lose a baby are cared for with compassion, writes Catherine Shanahan.

Here's your lunchtime bulletin.

Social change, recent referendum results and a changing social order mean the Ireland of today is very different from that seen by Pope John Paul II in 1979.

Love Both has set out a list of principles which should be included in abortion legislation including a ban on the sale of foetal remains.

The Government has said it is open to the legislation giving effect to the abortion referendum being named ‘Savita’s Law’.

Fear of prosecution held back Savita Halappanavar’s clinical team from terminating her pregnancy sooner, the medical expert who headed the inquiry into her death has said.

Here's your morning news bulletin...

The author of the investigation into Savita Halappanavar’s death has reiterated his finding that she would still be alive if the Eighth Amendment did not exist.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney has cast doubt that new abortion legislation could be passed this year should the people vote yes on Friday, as the Taoiseach has claimed.

On the day of the referendum to legalise same sex marriage, I stood at the polling booth with tears in my eyes, writes Louise O’Neill.

Long gone are the days, when the rule of the Catholic Church could dictate to the women of Ireland what they could do with their own bodies.

The Eighth Amendment is nothing more than a straightjacket for women who continue to face crisis pregnancies, writes Josepha Madigan.

With a month left until the referendum to repeal the eighth amendment, campaigning has intensified on both sides, writes Louise O’Neill.

We have got to break their stranglehold and make birth safe in Ireland. For my daughter. For all our daughters, writes Victoria White

Last month, I attended an event in Cork City organised by the Abortion Rights Campaign, writes Louise O’Neill.

If I live to be 100 I will never forget that first time hearing my baby’s heartbeat while having a scan. It was, and remains, the best sound ever.

Thank you, Leo Varadkar. Thank you for acknowledging that abortion has always existed in Ireland.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned that foreign funding cannot be allowed to back any sides in the abortion referendum and that rules will apply to campaigning.

The debate on the Eighth Amendment has prompted a surge in the number of people accessing post-abortion counselling.

Hospitals need to make better use of new technology to reduce clinical errors, according to the health watchdog.

October 28 marked the fifth anniversary of the tragic death of Savita Halappanavar,  As a young woman from Galway, her story has stuck with me for the past five years, and served as a reminder of the dangers of the Eighth Amendment, writes reader Suzanne Coombs

The death of Savita Halappanavar five years ago has not yet lead to a transformation of the law on abortion but change will surely happen before much longer, writes Alison O’Connor

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil members of the Oireachtas committee on the Eighth Amendment will block any further motions on the amendment if they are put down before the cross-party group completes its work.

Savita Halappanavar died as a direct result of Ireland’s abortion laws and not simply because she contracted sepsis, the author of the independent report into her death has said.

Ireland would have an "epidemic of illegal abortions" and a "massive increase" in maternal mortality" if women were unable to access abortion in the UK, a senior doctor has warned.

Savita Halappanavar died as a direct result of Ireland's restrictive abortion laws and not simply because she contracted sepsis, the author of the independent report into her death has said.

Political Correspondent

I know that most of you are horrified by the stories detailing the atrocities that women have been subjected to over the last 100 years, writes Louise O’Neill

Former Minister Conor Lenihan has been criticised for referring to Savita Halappanavar as “that Indian lady” during a recording of a debate for BBC radio.

Four years on from the death of Savita Halappanavar, the people of Ireland have shown they have not forgotten her.

Specialist counselling is to be offered to the near 20,000 women and their partners and families who suffer miscarriage, perinatal death, fatal foetal abnormality, termination or who travel for an abortion each year.

After a three-year break, the country’s Journalism Awards will return this November.

Sabina Higgins remarks in Trinity are not the only ones made by the first couple on the thorny issue of abortion, writes Alison O’Connor.

I am intrigued that Alison O’Connor’s article bemoaning the defeat of so many pro-abortion candidates was accompanied by a photograph of the late Savita Halappanavar.

Look at the raft of TDs who are known for their liberal views... who got the chop from the electorate, writes Alison O’Connor.