Early Medical Abortion Care in Ireland: Conscientious Provision and the Role of Law

Abstract

This Working Paper presents key findings from an empirical study of providers of Early Medical Abortion in Ireland under the Health (Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018.

Among the findings presented are:

Those providing abortion care are doing so based on a belief that it is the ‘right’ thing to do and because it aligns with their professional identity and their understanding of the duty to provide appropriate care to patients

The legally mandated 3-day wait is problematic for most providers for both principled and practical reasons.

Note:
Funding Information: This study was funded by the IRC New Foundations scheme under Strand 1a, Enhancing Civic Society, with the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) as civic society partners on the project.

Conflict of Interests: I confirm (on behalf of myself and my co-author Dr Claire Murray) that there are no known competing financial or personal relationships that could affect this paper.

Ethical Approval: Ethics approval was obtained from the Social Research Ethics Committee, University College Cork to conduct semi-structured interviews with community-based providers of early medical abortion care. The participant information sheet identified the objectives of the study, and all participants gave informed consent.

Keywords: abortion, Ireland, conscience, EMA

JEL Classification: I10, I18, K1