Bereaved parents put babies’ remains in freezer bag

Expectant parents of babies with fatal foetal conditions who travel to Britain for a termination have to use freezer bags in order to keep their bodies cold in coffins when crossing back over the Irish Sea, the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment will hear today.

TDs and senators will hear how parents of those babies who are unlikely to live outside the womb are “often left to their own devices” in terms of dealing with the personal crises facing them.

Testimony from the Terminations For Medical Reasons Ireland (TFMR) group, which represents parents of babies deemed not to be compatible with life, will detail the full cost of having to travel to Britain for termination of an unviable pregnancy can top €4,000.