Clarity sought on jailtime over use of abortion pills

The spectre of a young girl being jailed for 14 years for taking an abortion pill has been raised by Fianna Fáil in light of the manner in which the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill has been framed.

The party’s health spokesman, Billy Kelleher, said it was conceivable that a young girl who suffered medical complications after taking an abortifacient (a pill that induces abortion) could find herself under arrest if she sought medical attention.

“What we need to get clarity on is if a 15-year-old suffered complications after self-administering an abortion pill and she had to present to her doctor or at a hospital, could she find herself reported to An Garda Síochána and could it lead to imprisonment? As the legislation stands, clearly it could.”

He said there was no protection in the legislation for any young girl who, knowing that if she went to hospital, she could be reported to the authorities, and that it could lead to “back street abortions”.

While he had supported the bill, Mr Kelleher said he had concerns about the absence of any definitive sentencing guidelines.

Cork Women’s Right to Choose Group (CWRCG) echoed Mr Kelleher’s concerns saying they knew that “hundreds, if not thousands, of Irishwomen are now using the ‘abortion pills’ to self-abort every year”.

“It does not take much imagination to understand that a young girl, afraid to tell anyone she is pregnant may access pills through the internet and be terrified to seek help if she bleeds profusely,” said CWRCG spokeswoman Sandra McAvoy.

The Irish Medicines Board seized 487 abortion pills last year. The pills remain illegal in Ireland despite being licensed in the UK and other parts of Europe for more than 20 years.