THE DEBATE AROUND removing the three-day wait period for an abortion is continuing today in the Oireachtas health committee. 

Today, two GPs in favour of retaining the three-day wait period will tell the committee that in their view, the time gives pregnant women time to reflect and empowers them “to make fully informed decisions at a critical juncture in their lives”.

Dr Andrew Regan will tell the committee that “there is no clinical reason to remove it, but there are very important reasons to keep it”. 

Dr Cliona Murphy, clinical director with the HSE National Women and Infants Health Programme, previously told the committee that the existing three-day requirement could have a greater impact on women in difficult circumstances.

She said the delay may not make “too much of a difference” to some women, but it does have a higher impact on those who are closer to “timing out” of the 12-week mark. 

In June, TDs voted to remove the three-day waiting period for those who seek an abortion.

The Sinn Féin bill united both opposition and some government TDs on what has historically been a divisive topic.

The Taoiseach and Tánaiste’s support for the proposal has set them at odds with the majority of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs, who voted no in the vote. 

When the Eighth Amendment was repealed in 2018, the new legislation stipulated that women who chose to have an abortion in Ireland would be made to wait three days between their GP consultation and the termination.

It was thought that some women may change their minds in this timeframe. However, there is no comprehensive data on how many have.

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Some 86 TDs voted in favour of scrapping this rule and 70 voted against.

Today’s hearing follows on from other committee hearings where the proposed changes are being debated.

Last week, the Department of Health said it intends to propose an amendment to a Sinn Féin private members’ Bill to ensure “the option of a reflection period is preserved” if the mandatory requirement is removed.

Over the weekend, more than 100 people gathered to march from the Department of Health to Leinster House for the 15th March for Choice, organised by the Abortion Rights Campaign. The protest sought to highlight the barriers women still face in accessing abortion care in Ireland.