Survey: Irish abortion providers 'proud of work' despite stigma

Staff — including obstetricians, GPs, midwives, nurses, and administrative staff — have all faced stigma for providing abortions but do not find it debilitating.

Medical professionals providing access to abortions in Ireland regularly encounter "stigma" due to the work they carry out but nonetheless feel supported and "proud" of the service.

This is among the findings of new research carried out on the experiences of abortion providers since the repeal of the Eighth Amendment, which found that staff — including obstetricians, GPs, midwives, nurses, and administrative staff — have all faced stigma for providing abortions but do not find it debilitating.

PhD student Brendan Dempsey, who conducted the study for University College Dublin School of Medicine, said it also saw widespread support for safe-access zones around hospitals and clinics providing abortion.

There was concern for "geographical gaps", where some regions may not have any provider at all.

The research was carried out in two studies between January 2020 and March 2021 and interviewed 156 medical professionals about their experiences of liberalised abortion care in Ireland. The later study went into depth with 13 providers.

"Stigma was present but looking at it in a little more detail, we found it seemed it wasn't a debilitating issue for the providers and how they carried out their work," Mr Dempsey told the Irish Examiner.

"In the heat of the referendum that's no surprise but really the experiences have been relatively isolated. In their own personal lives they found they were supported to provide this care and where there were people who didn't support them, they moved on over time.

Stigma 'in the heat of the referendum' was no surprise but experiences have been relatively isolated. Picture: Niall Carson/PA Wire

"The stigma is there but it's not the big issue. The providers are very comfortable to deal with those isolated experiences."

However, they did support the introduction of safe-access zones around clinics that provide abortion services, for which Cabinet approved legislative plans during the summer, to make the setting easier for patients.

"One anecdotal example was that protests in the form of people standing outside with rosaries and white coffins, that can be an incredibly challenging experience for someone needing care," Mr Dempsey said.

"So really when saying they supported the introduction of safe-access zones, it wasn't to protect providers from, for want of a better word, intimidation, but for people when they are seeking a perfectly legal service."

Some providers admitted to facing "local resistance" in the form of "infrequent" protests.

In terms of what they would like to see improved, there were "big geographical gaps" noted.

Earlier this year the National Women's Council of Ireland released a survey that found Mayo, Wexford, and Longford were “particularly under-served”.

"To run these services you need to have buy-in from consultants, from midwives, from nurses," Mr Dempsey said.

"There was a sense that it's more challenging to be involved in those smaller units because there's fewer colleagues to support you."

However, there was a "strong sense of pride" displayed, Mr Dempsey said, pointing to how "70-80% reported really strong feelings of pride and feeling passionate about ensuring continued access to care".

"They feel they have made a positive impact on society. That was especially the feeling when helping couples struggling with fatal foetal abnormalities."

Providers reported feeling secure, in comparison to the US, as abortion services could "capitalise on existing infrastructure" in the form of hospitals. 

Mr Dempsey added that the support of HSE information line MyOptions has helped, as providers have not had to openly advertise their services.