Suicide risk cited in just 7 legal Irish abortions

Just seven abortions have been carried out in Ireland because of a risk of suicide since the law changed in 2013, the Irish Examiner can reveal.

Official figures from the Department of Health show that since the introduction of the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill, a total of 77 legal abortions have been carried out.

A large majority of those legally-performed abortions were in cases where there was an emergency resulting from a physical illness, while the remainder were as a result of a risk of physical illness.