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Leah Farrell/RollingNews.ie

Explainer: Here's what the proposed legislation says about abortion up to six months

New billboards launched this week have raised questions about access to terminations after 12 weeks if the Eighth Amendment is repealed.

AS THE EIGHTH REFERENDUM approaches, questions have been raised about how later term abortions would be handled in this State if the Eighth Amendment is repealed and the Health Minister’s proposed legislation is approved.

New billboards from the Save the 8th campaign show a young baby, with the caption: “I had no idea…They want to legalise abortion up to 6 months”.

The billboards were launched this week, along with a position paper on the provision for terminations after 12 weeks that is included in draft legislation proposed by Health Minister Simon Harris.

The bill proposes to legalise abortion up to 12 weeks in all circumstances.

Yes campaigners, including Minister Harris himself, have said there will be an effective ban on late-term abortions - terminations that take place after the foetus is viable.

Responding to the new billboards yesterday, Professor Louise Kenny said:

“Beyond 12 weeks, termination will only occur in exceptional circumstances – specifically if there is a grave risk to the health or the life of the woman, or if there’s a significant foetal life-limiting abnormality.

“Therefore I don’t know why the Save the 8th side and their protagonists are claiming that we would terminate healthy foetuses on spurious ground up to 24 weeks. The proposed legislation is quite clear.

The worst thing for me is to talk about six months of pregnancy and yet have a six-month-old baby conflated on the poster. I think the Irish people are actually quite intelligent and they’ll see what that is, it’s a manipulative visual ploy. The babies and foetuses that are on the posters are not representative of my reality in the job that I do.

What are these new billboards about?

Head of communications for the campaign, John McGuirk, told reporters that the provision allowing terminations up to viability in limited circumstances “has not been discussed” and “all of the media attention so far has been on the 12 weeks provision”.

No one has talked about what happens after that and, by and large, the government has been allowed to get away with saying it will be very restrictive after that…

He said it is important to note that this provision covers a serious risk to the woman’s health, including a serious risk to her mental health, as a reason for a termination after 12 weeks.

There is a similar provision in the UK abortion legislation. It allows for a termination in cases where the pregnancy has not exceeded the 24th week [the six month of pregnancy], but where the continuance of pregnancy would involve greater risk to the woman’s physical or mental health than if it was terminated.

McGuirk pointed out that mental health was the reason for 97% of abortions in the UK in 2016.

However, he later acknowledged that in the majority of these cases in Britain, the termination occurs before 12 weeks. UK figures for 2016 show that 92% of abortions were performed under 13 weeks’ gestation.

McGuirk said the government will try to argue that there is a “substantial difference” between the UK legislation and the proposed legislation for Ireland, as the bill here states there must be a “serious risk” to the woman’s health

He said the Yes campaign sees this provision as too restrictive and Save the 8th is concerned that access to later-term abortion could increase in the future, if the Eighth Amendment is removed from the constitution.

McGuirk said the public is “angry” about the lack of information being provided about access to terminations after 12 weeks and the point of the new billboards is to start that conversation.

So what does the draft legislation say about terminations after 12 weeks?

In the proposed legislation, Head 4 deals with these situations.

It states:

It shall be lawful to carry out a termination of pregnancy in accordance with this Head where two medical practitioners certify that, in their reasonable opinion formed in good faith:

  • there is a risk to the life of, or serious harm to the health of, the pregnant woman,
  • the foetus has not reached viability, and
  • it is appropriate to carry out the termination of pregnancy in order to avert that risk.

Of the two medical practitioners, one would be an obstetrician. The second would be a practitioner appropriate to the situation.

The two doctors would have to agree that all three of the above conditions were being met.

Would this affect many cases?

Government ministers, as well as experts in the area of obstetrics, have stressed that terminations after 12 weeks will only occur in small numbers and under strict conditions.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar last week made reference to the provision for terminations after 12 weeks.

He stressed that late-term abortions will be illegal in Ireland if the Eighth Amendment is repealed, and Minister Simon Harris’ draft legislation is approved:

A spokesperson for the Minister for Health explained how this legislation would work in the small proportion of cases where it would be required:

In cases where there is a risk to the life, or of serious harm to the health, of a woman, termination would not be lawful beyond viability. The viability of the foetus would be assessed and agreed by two doctors, one of whom would be an obstetrician/gynaecologist.
If viability is established and the pregnancy is ended on health grounds, then it will be done through early delivery, with a full medical team on hand.

When is viability and when would early delivery kick in?

The spokesperson said Dr Peter Boylan, chair of the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists has said that once viability is reached, the pregnancy would end in a delivery rather than an abortion.

Dr Boylan has spoken in the past about the limited circumstances in which an abortion would be performed after 12 weeks.

“Viability has moved back from 28 weeks when I was training, now to 23 or 24 weeks,” he explained earlier this month.

There is no saying that it won’t go further and if we have legislation, then we can reduce the time limit by which an abortion would be legal. In other words, that foetal viability will be the measure of, beyond which, babies will be delivered and not aborted.

This means that under the legislation, a termination could only be carried out in these limited circumstances between 12 and 24 weeks, if the foetus has not reached viability.

These terminations would be surgical procedures carried out under general anaesthetic and the pregnancy would be removed through the cervix by a special forceps.

If it has reached the stage of viability, there would be an early delivery by  Caesarean section and practitioners would provide medical care to the premature baby.

Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Dr Mark Murphy, a GP who is involved in the Together4Yes campaign, pointed out that a termination in cases where the pregnant woman is suicidal is already legal in Ireland under the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act. He said there have been “one or two cases a year” since this legislation was introduced.

“After 12 weeks, for the very few indications for life-threatening illness, often in an emergency obstetrics setting, it will be a surgical delivery as is done at the moment,” he said.

“This is  a small country and under this legislation abortion is essentially ruled out after 12 weeks pregnancy except in situations of life-threatening pregnancy. It won’t really be a material issue, [focusing on] six months is an absolute misnomer.”

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    Mute Ronan Stokes
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    Jun 28th 2014, 7:59 AM

    Have a great day all!!

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    Mute Lang
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    Jun 28th 2014, 8:18 AM

    Hope everyone has a fan-bloody-tastic day!!

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    Mute Noble Gas
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    Jun 28th 2014, 8:00 AM

    I am the only gay in the….no wait. Have fun everyone!

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    Mute Joanne Champ
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    Jun 28th 2014, 8:28 AM

    Have a fantastic day everybody xxx

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    Mute Mike Clinton
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    Jun 28th 2014, 9:23 AM

    Happy Pride day folks. This is your day and I hope you enjoy it.

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    Mute Fognostical
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    Jun 28th 2014, 8:25 AM

    Enjoy yourselves :-) , as the late Larry Grayson always said “What a gay day!”

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    Mute Maria Dardis
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    Jun 28th 2014, 8:43 AM

    Good stuff, fair play to all of you! Have a gteat day. M.

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    Mute kingstown
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    Jun 28th 2014, 9:22 AM

    Bet David Quinn and Breda O’Brien will be seething in their pews waiting to scribble down their anti-gay hatred or as they call it -their sincerely held beliefs’

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    Mute John Deegan
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    Jun 28th 2014, 9:29 AM

    It’s your day today. Shouldn’t you be happy? I suspect you’re not.

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    Mute Noble Gas
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    Jun 28th 2014, 9:31 AM

    It’s all a misunderstanding. They think gay people are a great bunch of lads , but only an invisible man told them that gays were against the natural order of things and shouldn’t have the same rights as straight people. No offence intended – it’s the invisible mans fault really.

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    Mute Danny Rigg
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    Jun 28th 2014, 7:52 AM

    I’m already on the train to Dublin. I hate crowds

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    Mute Mad Taoiseach
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    Jun 28th 2014, 8:01 AM

    Let them March. What harm can be done?

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    Mute Samuel Ista
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    Jun 28th 2014, 12:18 PM

    This parade is unsuitable for a city centre in daytime due to the outfits that many of the participants wear. Grown men in leather thongs should not be allowed in public. Personally I find it stomach turning.

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    Mute Jane Travers
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:39 AM

    Anyone know the best spot to watch the parade? I’m dying my hair bright pink in honour of the day that’s in it :)

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    Mute Ailbhe O'Nolan
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    Jun 28th 2014, 11:26 AM

    Woah Jane, nice! Good on ya

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    Mute Jane Travers
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    Jun 28th 2014, 11:45 AM

    Any excuse really, Ailbhe. It was blue and green last week ;)

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    Mute George Hogan
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    Jun 28th 2014, 12:58 PM

    @jane
    Bet you’ll look stunning Jane! Happy Pride all. Looking forward to a great day. Get involved people – share the love!
    @ Ailbhe – have a great day, even if you can’t make Pride this year! Great news about your grandparents. Older people are great and can really surprise sometimes!

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    Mute Jane Travers
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    Jun 28th 2014, 2:22 PM

    George, what a lovely positive thing to say! I’m not sure you belong on the Journal ;)

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    Mute Cian O Donoghue
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:26 AM

    How many letters are they going to end up with??

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    Mute significantrisk
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:48 AM

    As many as it takes until “people” includes everyone equally.

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    Mute Cian O Donoghue
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    Jun 28th 2014, 11:07 AM

    Maybe just call themselves people then. No need to differentiate from anybody any other way inclined?

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    Mute Carcu Sidub
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    Jun 28th 2014, 12:58 PM

    Anybody else find it unusual that the parade got routed across Butt Bridge?

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    Mute George Hogan
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    Jun 28th 2014, 1:12 PM

    Eh, no!

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    Mute Joe The Man
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:09 AM

    Looks like fun!!

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    Mute Stevie J
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    Jun 28th 2014, 9:39 AM

    What does the Q stand for in LGBTQ?

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    Mute roryboyle
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    Jun 28th 2014, 9:55 AM

    Queer, men that sleep with men but do not consider themselves gay.

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    Mute Patrick Varley
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:00 AM
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    Mute Patrick Varley
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:02 AM

    It stands for “questioning” surely…

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    Mute Patrick Varley
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:05 AM
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    Mute Jane Travers
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    Jun 28th 2014, 10:38 AM

    It’s “questioning” not queer.

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    Mute Stevie J
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    Jun 28th 2014, 12:08 PM

    Cheers

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    Mute Taxi Bill
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    Jun 28th 2014, 11:56 AM

    Enjoy the party, because probably in less than 50 years you probably wont be able to have one at all. As radical Islam occupies much of Europe their tolerances of ANYTHING different (cartoons) gets met with a bullet at the back of the head. (lets face it how many pride festivals are there in Saudi for example) Even now we see “women” and children (not men mind you! ) in Ireland covered from head to toe in black and people hardy bat an eyelid. LGBTQ people fought long and hard for the freedoms you have, well enjoy them while you can!!

    Of course that could NEVER happen in Ireland????

    Well add a little section of the parade to pass by the Mosque in Clonskea and see the reaction.

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    Mute Michael Fallon
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    Jun 28th 2014, 12:14 PM

    Down with this type of thing

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    Mute Sheldon Sheridan
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    Jun 28th 2014, 2:36 PM

    40,000 in Dublin? PinkNews is saying there’s 20,000 at London’s Pride today. If the figures are correct, I’m thrilled.

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    Mute Mad Taoiseach
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    Jun 28th 2014, 7:19 PM

    12,488 showed up.

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    Mute Samuel Ista
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    Jun 28th 2014, 12:15 PM

    This parade is unsuitable for a city centre in daytime due to pretty nasty and very sexual outfits that many of the males wear. Men in leather thongs or hotpants, it’s disgusting and perverted and doesn’t encourage respect from straight folk like me. These adult men and women obviously have a twisted sense of their place in society and relish the opportunity to parade their perversion. I guess the vast majority of mature, intelligent, and self respecting gay people stay home today and are very embarrassed by the freaks who claim to represent their sexuality.

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