Number travelling for abortion lowest since 1991

The number of women travelling to England and Wales to have an abortion has fallen to its lowest level since 1991.

In 2011, 4,149 women had a pregnancy terminated in Britain but gave an Irish address. This represented a drop of 253 on 2010.

The Irish Family Planning Association said the reduction represented better access to contraception and improved attitudes to sexual health.

IFPA chief executive Niall Behan said there was still more than 150,000 women who had made the journey since 1980.

“What these statistics tell us, and have indeed told us for over 20 years, is that criminalising abortion does not deter women from accessing abortion,” he said.

Health Minister James Reilly said, regarding the Irish legal position, there was an expert group dealing with the ABC case ruling by the European Court of Human Rights. The court ruled in December 2010 that there should be access to an abortion where a woman’s life was at risk because of pregnancy, including the risk of suicide.

As a signatory to the European Convention on Human Rights, which is incorporated into Irish law, the Government must remedy any breaches. The minister said it would be very wrong for him to preempt what the group, expected to report next month, might say.

Asked if it was not worrying that 148 of 4,149 women who went to Britain for a termination were under age of 17 and 36 under the age of 16, Dr Reilly said: “It is of great concern and that is why I come back to the issue of proper sexual health education.”

At the Sexual Health Awareness Week launch, he said he was told by some experts that some schools were not taking up the option of allowing sexual education. He said he intended taking up the issue with the education minister.