OVER SEVEN YEARS after the termination of pregnancy up to 12 weeks was legalised following a constitutional referendum, the HSE has published its first report into the termination of pregnancy services in Ireland.

The 50-page report examines the expansion of services and the number of terminations carried out by recognised providers in Ireland between the years 2019 and 2024.

By law, a woman in Ireland can choose to terminate a pregnancy up to 12 weeks. A termination after 12 weeks is only permitted in cases where the pregnancy poses a risk to life or a risk of serious harm to the woman, or where the fetus has a fatal fetal abnormality.

A termination related to the latter is based on whether doctors determine the fetus has a condition that will lead to its death before birth or within 28 days of being born.

All nineteen maternity services in Ireland provide medical abortions, although only four offer medical, surgical and manual vacuum aspiration.

All units provide for surgical termination of pregnancy in an emergency, the HSE said, explaining that difficulties experienced by the ten sites not providing elective surgical terminations include theatre access and personnel.

In new figures published today, the HSE said a total of 46,861 terminations were recorded as having been carried out between January 2019 and December 2024, the latest period for which figures are available for.

Figures for 2021 were notably lower. The HSE said this coincides with the criminal cyber-attack on the HSE. 

A geographical breakdown by counties showed that rural counties, particularly those in the Midlands, recorded the lowest number of terminations: Leitrim recorded 221 in the six years, Monaghan 318, Longford 358, and Roscommon 375.

Dublin recorded 17,300 terminations in the six years. The next highest was Cork, which recorded 4,223.

The majority of these terminations were recorded as early pregnancy terminations. 

A total of 575 were recorded as being carried out due to a condition likely to result in the death of a fetus. Another 147 were attributed to having been carried out due to a risk to the life or health of the pregnant woman.

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The clinical lead for termination of pregnancy services in the HSE National Women and Infants Health Programme, Dr Aoife Mullally, said one in four pregnancies worldwide ends in a termination, “making it one of the most common medical procedures experienced by women of reproductive age”.

She said safe and high-quality care for women undertaking a termination is an “essential element” of healthcare services provided by the HSE.

“In a global climate where reproductive rights are increasingly under pressure, safeguarding and sustaining these important services must remain a priority to ensure that people can continue to access the care that they need and are legally entitled to,” Mullally said.

Dr Cliona Murphy, the clinical director of the National Women and Infants Health Programme, said the focus is on planning the next phase of such services.

“The service will continue to evolve in response to changes within the health system and the needs of the population, with a sustained emphasis on evidence-based, equitable and woman-centred care.”

A Sinn Féin Bill seeking to remove the mandatory three-day wait when seeking an abortion has progressed past the second stage in the Dáil.