Agency helps Irish women arrange abortions over the phone

A BRITISH-based sexual health service is allowing Irish women to arrange an abortion over the phone.

Current legislation means counselling services here cannot give information in relation to abortion unless in a private face-to- face interview, and even then only limited advice is permitted.

But Marie Stopes International (MSI), a British provider of sexual and reproductive healthcare services, said that as the phone number is a British one, and call centre is based in Britain, it falls outside Ireland’s jurisdiction.

“The service is offering abortion consultation and counselling services to give impartial, non-judgmental and non-directive advice,” said a spokesman for the company.

“The telephone service offers Irish women an alternative to face-to-face appointments and allows them to fully discuss their circumstances or seek full counselling before they travel to England to access abortion services,” he said.

“The world is a global village nowadays, so women should be able to pick up a telephone and talk to someone from the comfort of their own home and information should be freely available.”

A spokeswoman for the Pro-Life Campaign Ireland called it a “most unwelcome development”.

“Marie Stopes is first and foremost a business enterprise and its latest move should be seen in that light,” she said.

“As an organisation, it shows no regard for the humanity and vulnerability of the unborn child.

“It is grossly unethical for the same organisation that carries out abortions to also provide ‘counselling’ for the women involved,” she added.

MSI said it is not a business, but a registered charity: “Any proceeds we make donated to support the work we do in developing countries. Nobody is making a commercial profit.”

The agency has also reduced its fees by the average cost of a discount airfare from Ireland to England to alleviate, it says, the financial hardship faced by Irish women.

“We recognise the financial troubles women face and the cost involved in travelling.”

Up to 7,000 Irish women travel to Britain every year for an abortion.

“It is not for us to comment on the Republic’s situation, but we feel it is absolutely ludicrous that women in Northern Ireland cannot have an abortion even though they are part of the same country where women can,” said the MSI spokesman.

“Deciding whether or not to have an abortion can be a difficult decision and by making it easier for Irish women to access our variety of services, we can help them make the right choice for their circumstances.”