IRELAND would have an “epidemic” of illegal abortions and maternal mortality if women weren’t able to access abortions in Britain, a leading Irish doctor has claimed.
Dr Peter Boylan, former master of the National Maternity Hospital in Dublin, said around 70,000 women die around the world each year from complications arising from illegal terminations.
Speaking to the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment, Dr Boylan explained that the rate of women dying “remains high” in countries where abortions are prohibited.
"It is equally well-documented that countries with liberal laws, and easy access to contraception, have lower rates of abortion than those with restrictive laws,” he said.
Abortion has proved one of the most contentious issues in Ireland in recent years"Women in Ireland with financial resources have access to termination of pregnancy, primarily in the UK.
"However, women who are poor, in the care of the state, or refugees for example, do not have such access.”
He added: "Without access to abortion in the UK it is inevitable that Ireland would have an epidemic of illegal abortions and a massive increase in maternal mortality.”
Dr Boylan also warned that the rise in unregulated and potentially harmful abortion pills being used by Irish women in recent years is a “grave concern”.
He said the ready availability of termination-inducing medication online means that “the genie is out of the bottle” with regards to Ireland’s abortion laws.
"If Ireland were to enact legislation in line with EU consensus, including termination without restriction up to 10 weeks, our law would be among the most conservative in Europe but would deal with the vast majority of circumstances in which women currently access services outside the State," added Dr Boylan.
Sir Sabaratnam Arulkumaran, president-elect of the British Medical Association, told the committee that Ireland’s controversial Eighth Amendment risks the lives of poorer women.
He said: "If abortion is not made legal it will promote illegal abortion. Those women with influence and financial resources will get it performed in a safe environment.
“Those who are poor with less influence will resort to unsafe methods.
"Ireland can and should provide first class sexual and reproductive health based on rights and public health perspectives. There are minimal ill effects to health with a well-informed safe abortion.
"Health advantages of avoiding or not having unwanted pregnancy need to be considered in addition to specific socio-cultural issues faced by the women.”
