IN THE FIRST ten months of this year the number of abortion pill seizures have more than doubled.

Last night, RTÉ’s Prime Time revealed that, in 2014 so far, there have been more than 60 abortion pill seizures, consisting of 1,000 tablets in total.

In 2013, that figure was much lower with 24 abortion pill seizures recorded.

Online 

For its investigation, Prime Time managed to order pills from a website online and picked them up in a post office in Northern Ireland.

Dr Sam Coulter Smith Master of the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin expressed his concerns about this, saying:

If you are administering these drugs at the wrong dose and at the wrong intervals or by the wrong route then there is a risk of perforation in that situation and that is a very serious complication.

He went on to say that his hospital has treated people who have presented with problems after taking these drugs.

Drugs 

“We have seen people who have taken drugs to induce miscarriage, induce abortion absolutely yes thankfully we haven’t run into many significant problems with them but we are certainly aware that it happens,” he said.

The programme investigated a website called Women on Web, which they claim were originally called Women on Waves. This group sailed a ship into Dublin offering to perform abortions on Irish women in International waters in 2001.

One testimonial on the site is from a 16-year-old Irish girl who says it was the right decision for the situation she found herself in.

A spokesperson for the organisation said the medicines are safe, even if there is a slightly higher degree of complications.

She said between 200 and 250 women from Ireland email the organisation every month for support.

First published 23 October, 10.16pm

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