Ireland has seen its highest number of abortions on record for 2022, with one abortion for every seven babies born.
Yesterday, the Department of Health in Ireland released its abortion statistics for 2022, which revealed there had been 8,156 abortions. This is the highest number of abortions since abortion was made legal in Ireland in 2018.
Due to a discrepancy in the 2021 abortion figures, which the Department of Health in Ireland blamed on COVID-19 and a cyber attack, only approximate numbers for the total number of abortions in Ireland in 2021 are available. Based on the approximate figure though, there were 6,700 abortions in Ireland in 2021, which means there was a 22% increase in abortions over a single year.
Pro Life Campaign spokesperson, Eilís Mulroy, said that the latest figures showed that for every seven babies born, one was aborted.
“It shows how the Irish abortion rate has dramatically jumped, as the result of a government which has shown a complete lack of interest in providing women in unplanned pregnancies with real alternatives to abortion. Politicians’ only focus now should be on reducing the numbers, not on making the abortion regime even more pervasive.”
“Even the Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, in recent days has spoken of his concern with the exploding abortion rate … If Mr Varadkar is serious about seeing a decrease in the abortion rate, he urgently needs to focus on providing women in unplanned pregnancies with greater supports and alternatives to abortion. He must also engage with and listen to pro-life perspectives, instead of relying exclusively on abortion advocates in setting policy in this area”, she added.
A sharp increase in abortions compared to the previous year
A highly controversial review of Ireland’s abortion law earlier this year recommended physicians who perform abortions be immune from prosecution if they perform an abortion at any stage of pregnancy.
The review also recommended the scrapping of the three-day waiting period before an abortion can happen, despite the fact that thousands of women had their babies instead of an abortion after the three-day waiting period.
The Pro-Life Campaign in Ireland has been highly critical of the report, which failed to use official government figures that show that between 2019 and 2021, of those who had an initial abortion consultation, 3,951 women did not return for a second consultation.
Right To Life UK spokesperson Catherine Robinson said “Like the UK, Ireland is experiencing a sharp increase in the number of abortions. This is tragic. Every abortion is the loss of someone’s son or daughter.”
