Mother refused abortion in Ireland on fatal foetal abnormality grounds told to travel, Dáil told

A MOTHER WHO was informed that her baby has a fatal foetal abnormality at 22 weeks was today told she could not access abortion services in Ireland, and was advised to travel to Liverpool, the Dáil has heard. 

TD Bríd Smith said a young couple contacted her today, after they were told by health professionals at a multidisciplinary meeting that the woman cannot access termination services here, as it is “impossible to tell” how long her baby would survive after birth. 

Smith said that the baby has one enlarged kidney which is covered in cysts, and has a lack of amniotic fluid around its body. 

She told the Dáil that the mother, who is in pain, was told to travel to Liverpool over Christmas to get a termination. 

Smith added that when the mother said she would not be able to find childcare for her two and a half year old daughter, she was advised to bring the child to Liverpool with her. 

Smith asked the Government to take immediate action to change the legislation so that women who have been informed of a fatal foetal abnormality diagnosis are not put in this “cruel” position.

The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 states that a termination of pregnancy may be carried out when a condition will likely lead to the death of a foetus after two medical practitioners have examined the woman, and have agreed that the foetus’s condition is likely to lead to its death within 28 days of birth. 

This section of the legislation has meant that women who have been informed of a fatal foetal abnormality diagnosis by a practitioner are still having to travel abroad to access abortion services, because in most cases it is incredibly difficult to determine if the baby would die within 28 days. 

Speaking to The Journal, Bríd Smith said that this is one of the key aspects of Ireland’s abortion legislation that needs to change, as Barrister Marie O’Shea has recommended to the Government in her review. 

O’Shea authored the first review of Ireland’s abortion legislation since the Repeal the 8th referendum saw the law changed in 2018. 

The review recommended that key legislative changes be made, and highlighted issues with abortion services in different parts of the country.  

“When I spoke to the couple today they were both very, very distressed. 

“The problem is that proving that the baby wouldn’t survive beyond 28 days is incredibly difficult. 

“Because of the existing criminalisation around abortion for providers, it has a chilling effect over the decisions that practitioners make. This was something that Marie O’Shea talked about at great length in her review, and one of the things that she points out is that the numbers of women having to travel for abortions in cases of fatal foetal abnormality haven’t gone done that much since the legislation for abortion came in,” she said. 

Smith said that she has contacted the Irish Family Planning Association in relation to the couple, and that the association has reached out to offer support. 

She said that the mother was deeply offended at a suggestion made to her that she should bring her toddler with her to Liverpool if she couldn’t find childcare. 

“That is just one factor, you also have the distress of bringing home the unborn child’s remains, of being in an unfamiliar place while you are there, and the expense of the entire trip,” Smith said. 

Minister Coveney today said in the Dáil that while he is reluctant to comment on  individual cases “as stressful and as potentially as tragic as the one outlined”, the Government in the new year will have the opportunity to debate and finale its decisions in response to Barrister Marie O’Shea’s review.

Brid Smith introduced a Private Member’s Bill that aims to widen access to abortion services in Ireland, which passed its second stage in May of this year after Government TDs were given a free vote. 

A Government amendment to pause the passage of the Bill for 12 months was defeated. 

Another key section of the legislation the bill sought to address is the mandatory three day waiting period before a woman can access termination services, as O’Shea’s review found that there is no medical or legal reason for it.