Pro-choice doctors launch clinical guide to abortion

A CLINICAL guide to abortion care has been published for the first time in Ireland by a group of pro-choice doctors.

The doctors, who support the introduction of abortion in Ireland, said the guide is in response to demand from the medical profession for advice for women travelling abroad for a termination.

Doctors For Choice spokeswoman Dr Mary Favier said they were also working towards the day when women in this country would feel free to discuss all options with the family doctor in the case of an unwanted pregnancy.

“Of the women who opt for abortion, so many of them make the decision in isolation without telling their GP or family or partner. What we want them to know is that there are sympathetic doctors, doctors they can trust to give them the advice they need when they are faced with a choice,” Dr Favier said.

More than 7,000 women from Ireland travel abroad every year for abortion, which equates to approximately two women per GP. Dr Favier said the perception among many women was that GPs were mostly conservative and opposed to a woman’s right to know. She said women were often afraid to express their desire for an abortion for fear of being met with disapproval, which also discouraged them from seeking post-abortion care.

“Doctors for Choice want women to know not all doctors are right wing pro-lifers as portrayed in the past, that many would be supportive,” Dr Favier said.

The guidelines issued by the lobby group include advice to doctors on how to encourage their patient to confide in them. It advises that a woman is legally entitled to make an appointment for an abortion while in her doctor’s surgery and that a doctor, while prohibited under Irish legislation from referring a woman to an abortion clinic, can write a letter of introduction outlining the patient’s medical history.

“We would prefer to be able to refer patients directly but at least the letter of introduction establishes a conduit between the doctor and the clinic and a form of professional conduct,” Dr Favier said.

Dr Favier said there had been no negative reaction to its decision to issue the clinical guidelines.

Dr Berry Kiely, medical director of the Pro Life Campaign, said while she hadn’t seen the guidelines, the most important issue in her mind was the care of the woman and her baby. However she said there was no disputing that abortion was killing a human being.