Removing three-day wait would lead to rise in ‘already massive’ number of abortions, GP says

There would be a “further rise” in the number of terminations in Ireland if a mandatory three-day wait were removed, according to two anti-abortion GPs who gave evidence against the reform to TDs and senators. Dr Andrew O’Regan and Dr Kirsten Fuller were speaking in a personal capacity as citizens at the Oireachtas health committee on Wednesday. Neither O’Regan nor Fuller have experience providing termination of pregnancy services, as both conscientiously object to abortion. Both declined to say how many women had approached them seeking advice about abortion services since the new law came into effect in January 2019. During what were, at times, tense exchanges, O’Regan claimed that he and Fuller had experienced “attacks” at the committee for their personal positions on abortion. Social Democrats TD Pádraig Rice, the chair of the committee, defended the hearing and said that he did not think it was “fair to say that there were attacks”. “If there was, I would have intervened to prevent them.” The Health (Abolition of Three Day Wait Rule) (Amendment) Bill, which Sinn Féin introduced in May, would scrap the mandatory three-day waiting period that was included in Ireland’s abortion law following the repeal of the Eighth Amendment. READ MOREUnder the current law, a woman has to wait 72 hours between requesting an abortion under 12 weeks at a first appointment and accessing one at a second. The Oireachtas health committee, which is scrutinising the Bill, has previously heard evidence from the Irish College of General Practitioners and the HSE supporting the removal of the mandatory three-day wait. O’Regan and Fuller were invited to give evidence after some Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs complained about a lack of balance. Fuller claimed that “eliminating the three-day wait would undoubtedly lead to a further rise in these already massive number of abortions”.“I know the substantive issue of abortion or abortion numbers is not part of the discussion here, but when considering the three-day wait and its possible removal, the impact this could have on the abortion rate is surely a relevant consideration in the deliberations of this committee.“The central point, as I see it, is the finality of what abortion entails. A three-day wait gives a woman a short but guaranteed space in which to consider her circumstances before proceeding, and to ensure there is genuinely informed consent in a context where many women describe themselves as experiencing shock and uncertainty.”[ Three-day abortion wait hits women in ‘straitened circumstances’ hardest, HSE saysOpens in new window ]O’Regan claimed that it was an “undeniable fact that children are alive today because of this three-day wait”. He said that the number of women who were pushed beyond the 12-week limit by the three-day wait was “actually a very, very small percentage”. Both GPs were challenged by Fianna Fáil TD Martin Daly, also a GP, who said that both witnesses had “made reflections in the general area of abortion, which we didn’t really ask for today”. Daly asked O’Regan to confirm if he prescribes the contraceptive pill, which O’Regan declined to do. Both GPs later clarified that all GP practices offer contraception. Fuller claimed the “majority” of GPs don’t agree that abortion is a form of healthcare. O’Regan said that while he agreed that abortion is “legal”, “we’ve made our views clear that we don’t think it’s necessary”.