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Ireland: Almost 1,500 women didn’t go through with their abortion after a three-day consideration period

Almost 1,500 women did not go through with their abortion after an initial consultation and a three-day consideration or waiting period, newly released data in Ireland has revealed.

As part of a response to a parliamentary question in Ireland last week, it was revealed that there had been 8,057 initial consultations for abortion in Ireland in 2020. However, statistics reveal that there were 6,577 abortions in Ireland in 2020. This means that 1,480 women did not proceed with their planned abortion.

Current legislation requires a three-day waiting period, which must elapse between the first consultation and proceeding with an abortion.

The recent data was made known to Deputy Carol Nolan by the Primary Care Reimbursement Service (PCRS) from community GPs in response to her parliamentary question.

The three-day waiting period… was undoubtedly significant

Nolan said: “My primary concern here is to ensure that women and babies are protected and supported. Unfortunately, all we are getting from the current Minister, which is also what we got from the previous Minister for Health, is a kind of cold-shoulder attitude toward those who seek to place the emphasis on the need to reduce abortions rather than promote them. That is not acceptable, and I will continue to fight against it. We can and must do better for women and their babies”.

Eilís Mulroy of the Pro-Life Campaign in Ireland said: “This information indicates that there are a sizeable proportion of women who change their mind between the first consultation when discussing abortion with their GP and actually going through with the abortion”.

“Whilst the three-day waiting period may not have been the only or most important factor in all these cases, it was undoubtedly a significant and life-saving measure in many cases”.

Research shows reduction in abortion following a waiting period

The discovery in Ireland of the apparent link between a mandatory waiting period and the fact that a high proportion of women do not follow through with their abortions is confirmed by research which suggests that mandatory waiting periods that require women to make two physical visits to an abortion provider lead to a reduction in the overall abortion rate for residents of 8.9%.

Polling indicates that the British public is strongly in favour of introducing a ‘waiting period’ between an initial consultation and an abortion taking place in order to ensure that a mother has enough time to consider all the options available to her, with 79% of those surveyed in agreement with such a proposal.

In addition to Ireland, Belgium, Italy, Netherlands, Portugal and Spain all require a waiting period of at least three days between an initial consultation and an abortion.

Right To Life UK spokesperson, Catherine Robinson, said: “It is hardly surprising that there could be a link between having a waiting period in law and a reduction in the number of women that go on to have an abortion. Even supporters of abortion who typically frame the debate around ‘choice’, should favour the introduction of waiting periods. They clearly give women a chance to consider their options, and perhaps find the help they need to go through with their pregnancy”.

Urgent appeal 
to save liveS

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to build on the momentum from the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill and make this victory last.

Dear reader,

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of people like you across the UK, after a two-year battle, MPs voted by 286 to 270 to reject the Edwards assisted suicide Bill.

This followed the defeat of the McArthur assisted suicide Bill in Scotland by 69 to 57 in March this year.

Many commentators thought both Bills would become law.

If that had happened, this would have led to the deaths of many thousands of vulnerable people over the coming decades.

Because supporters like you acted, those Bills were stopped.

Because of you, many vulnerable lives have been saved.

A prominent pollster described the campaign against these major attempts to introduce assisted suicide, which brought together people from all walks of life across the UK, as one of the “most successful 21st Century UK social issue campaigns”. You helped make that possible.

WHY WE MUST NOT STOP HERE

What we have achieved together is extraordinary. But we must not rest on our laurels.

Dignity in Dying, a multi-million-pound pressure group, has made clear that it will keep campaigning to legalise assisted suicide. 

We cannot wait until another Bill is brought forward. We need to keep pressing for better care and strengthen the case against legalisation now.

WHAT COMES NEXT

The next phase of our Support Not Suicide campaign will operate across Parliament, media, online and in grassroots communities in every constituency across the United Kingdom.

Our focus now is to build on that momentum from the defeat of these assisted suicide Bills and make these victories last.

We want to build a United Kingdom where assisted suicide is seen as unnecessary – and where legalising it is seen as unthinkable.

The first part of that work is a sustained push for universal access to high-quality palliative, hospice and social care. No one should feel driven towards assisted suicide because they cannot get the care and support they need. 

We have already asked supporters to contact their MPs about improving care. With your help, we will keep that pressure on in every constituency, brief MPs and Peers on gaps in care, and make the case for better provision in the media.

The second part is building on these wins to ensure more MPs and more of the wider public understand the dangers of legalising assisted suicide. We will put evidence of those risks before MPs and Peers. We will work with mainstream journalists to bring the voices of people directly affected, doctors and other experts into the national conversation, and produce clear videos and articles that supporters can share online and in their communities.

Our network of 250,000 supporters covers every constituency in the UK. Thanks to people like you sharing our content, our posts and videos have been viewed more than 100 million times online in the last year. 

We want to utilise that massive reach for this next phase of the campaign.

WE CAN ONLY DO THIS WITH YOUR HELP

The two-year fight to stop these Bills drew heavily on our limited resources.

To replenish those resources and fund the next phase of the Support Not Suicide campaign, we aim to raise at least £199,250 by midnight this Sunday (4 October 2026).

We are, therefore, appealing to you to please give as generously as you can today.

Every donation, large or small, will make a crucial difference in protecting vulnerable lives. Plus, if you are a UK taxpayer, £1 becomes £1.25 with Gift Aid at no extra cost to you.

Will you donate now to help make these victories last and protect vulnerable lives?

Urgent appeal 
to save liveS

Help stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to build on the momentum from the defeat of the assisted suicide Bill and make this victory last.