‘Cooling-off’ term when seeking terminations is insulting, says academic

An Irish-born academic who has conducted research on abortion pill use in Ireland has said that a cooling-off period for seeking terminations is “patronising and insulting” for women.

Assistant professor Abigail Aiken said mandatory waiting periods for women seeking abortion applied in the US and Britain and forced women there to still rely on abortion pills.

“As a policy researcher with almost 10 years of experience examining abortion policy worldwide, I urge you to move away from requiring a mandatory waiting period before abortion services can be provided,” she told Health Minister Simon Harris in a letter released under Freedom of Information to the Irish Examiner.