The Pro Life Campaign has questioned whether the leadership of the Irish College of General Practitioners (ICGP) is genuinely reflecting the views of the wider GP profession in its call for the removal of the three-day waiting period for abortion.
Representatives of the ICGP appeared before the Oireachtas Health Committee this morning and acknowledged, under questioning from several TDs and Senators, that the organisation had not consulted its membership across the country before deciding to support the removal of the three-day waiting period. The Health Committee is currently scrutinising a Sinn Féin bill to abolish the reflection period.
Commenting on today’s development, Eilís Mulroy, spokesperson for the PLC said:
“The ICGP leadership this morning presented an unambiguous position at the Oireachtas Health Committee in support of removing the three-day wait but, under questioning, made the staggering admission that they hadn’t consulted any of their 4,900 members beforehand. Not only did they not consult members who don’t participate in providing abortions, they admitted they hadn’t even consulted members who are involved in abortion provision.”
“The fact that they also admitted under questioning that they never consulted any of the thousands of women who went for their first abortion appointment but didn’t proceed with the abortion after the waiting period, made their presentation even more embarrassing. For a supposedly representative body like the ICGP to come out in favour of such a radical change to the law without even carrying out basic consultation with relevant groups and individuals is incredible. They really need to reflect on this and change how they approach issues of such importance.
“It’s relevant to note that medics on both sides of the abortion debate agree that the three-day wait should be retained. Some doctors who support and participate in abortion provision have publicly stated their opposition to removing it, making the point that abortion should not be treated lightly by taking away this period for reflection. But the ICGP included nothing to reflect this in their presentation today.
“At the hearing, among other contributors, Deputy Carol Nolan and Senator Sarah O’Reilly highlighted the experiences of women who have contacted them to say that the three-day wait is the reason their child is alive today. They emphasised that these women’s testimonies haven’t been factored into the discussion so far and that this urgently needs to happen.”
Meanwhile, new poll findings commissioned by the Pro Life Campaign and carried out by Amárach Research show strong public support for retention of the three-day waiting period. Of those who expressed an opinion, 55.3% of the public expressed support for keeping the three-day wait.
ENDS
Note to Editor: Amárach research attached.