Abortion rights in Ireland: 'You can never say for sure what the future is going to be'

The new chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Ireland, Professor Sam Coulter Smith. 

The decision in America to overturn the constitutional right to abortion has been labelled “regressive" by the new chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Ireland.

The US Supreme Court recently overturned the 1973 Roe vs Wade ruling that had allowed abortions during the first two trimesters of pregnancy, causing shock globally.

Professor Sam Coulter Smith said: “It is a recognised right around the world, mostly, that provision of termination services is an important part of healthcare.

“The issue is that a woman’s right to have a termination of pregnancy is not protected within the constitution — states can create their own regulations around what is and isn’t available,” he said.

“Many of the more conservative states may ban abortion completely. And if that is the case then women who are pregnant as a result of rape or incest will have to continue that pregnancy, unless they go elsewhere.” 

As well as the healthcare risks, women’s right to privacy and self-determination have been “wiped out in one fell swoop.” 

“It is grim. It is a sad reflection of where America is at the moment. This is a regressive and unfortunate change," he said.

The Institute said international evidence shows the rate of termination of pregnancy in countries where abortion is legally available is similar to those where it is restricted.

“Restricting access does not decrease the number of abortions but instead increases the proportion of unsafe abortions,” the institute said.

Professor Coulter Smith does not see a similar threat to abortion access in Ireland, granted under the Termination of Pregnancy Act.

“I wouldn’t have any immediate concerns. But would we have predicted what is happening in Russia and Ukraine, would we have predicted what was going to happen in the States?

“You can never say for sure what the future is going to be, but we can certainly hope that we have a modern, forward-thinking society that wouldn’t row back on what most people regard as being an integral part of a proper health service for women.” 

The National Health Service in the UK recently published their annual termination statistics, which showed 206 women gave Irish addresses when applying for an abortion in England, a slight increase on the year before. Half of those involved fatal foetal anomalies.