Women with firsthand experience of three-day wait speak out at Dublin event.
Several women shared their personal experiences at an event in Dublin today hosted by the Pro Life Campaign, explaining why they believe the three-day waiting period before an abortion should be retained.
The event was organised for TDs and Senators to attend after the Oireachtas Health Committee, who are scrutinising the Sinn Féin bill to abolish the three-day wait at present, declined a request to invite the women to appear before their hearings on the issue.
The Pro Life Campaign said the women’s stories should have been sought out and listened to by the sponsors and supporters of the Sinn Féin Bill before it was introduced in the Dáil.
Over the summer, the Pro Life Campaign invited women to come forward and share their experiences of the three-day waiting period. According to the group, the response has been “overwhelming”.
Eilís Mulroy of the Pro Life Campaign said: “The stories the women told today mirror the experiences of thousands of Irish women. Their voices and experiences deserve to be heard as part of this debate.
“The Sinn Féin Bill to abolish the waiting period is before the Dáil, yet the Oireachtas Health Committee reviewing the Bill declined a request to meet these women who say the three-day wait saved their children’s lives.
“To people who have not been paying attention to what is happening in the Dáil on this issue, I would say: you need to start. It is utterly unacceptable what is going on.”
Media commentator Wendy Grace said it was extraordinary that women with firsthand experience of the three-day waiting period were denied an opportunity to address the committee. “Women with direct, personal experience of the three-day wait were not given the opportunity to address the committee,” Ms Grace said.
“At the same time, professional bodies that never sought the views of their members and presented no peer-reviewed evidence supporting the abolition of the reflection period were invited to make presentations. That raises very serious questions about the fairness and balance of this debate.
“Today, though, is the start of something new. The women who told their stories today were amazing. A line has been drawn. There is no going back. Respectfully but defiantly, we will keep raising our voices – and growing louder – until this debate has the fairness and balance it deserves.”
Ms Mulroy said the testimonies also raised wider questions about the support offered to women experiencing unplanned pregnancies.
“The stories that were shared today not only point to the need for the three-day wait to be retained, but also to the need for radical reform in the whole way women with unplanned pregnancies are treated in this country,” she said.
“The state-run pregnancy services are entirely abortion-focused, and this cannot continue. Women facing unplanned pregnancies deserve genuine support and the time and space to consider their circumstances.”
One of the women who addressed today’s meeting in Buswells Hotel described her experience of contacting My Options:
“I was crying when I rang My Options. Nobody asked if I wanted time to consider my options before giving me details of an abortion provider. Without a mandatory wait, I do not believe women like me would be encouraged to take time to reflect.
“And why was I refused when I asked to see my baby on the ultrasound? How many other women were refused and later regretted their abortions?”
She added: “We need to slow things down and ask some very hard questions. Women deserve respect, time and genuine support when facing a decision this significant.”
ENDS