Amnesty welcomes religious group’s divestment from maternity hospital

In a statement, the religious group said it would transfer ownership of the St Vincent’s Healthcare Group (SVHG) to a newly-formed charity called St Vincent’s, in which it will have “no involvement”.

Fiona Crowley, research and legal manager at Amnesty, said it had “been concerned at the proposed involvement in women’s health services of a religious congregration whose ethos is inherently antithetical to women’s sexual and reproductive rights”.

Ms Crowley added: “We also welcome the assurances given that the medical ethics codes of the new body to take charge of the national maternity hospital will align with best medical practice.

“We hope and expect that the government will ensure that the new body, St Vincent’s, will adhere to this commitment and the new facility will be free of any religious ideology prejudicial to women’s health.”

She continued: “This move is particularly important as the government begins its promised consideration of reform of Ireland’s abortion law.

“Law reform is only one part of the Irish State’s human rights responsibility. It has an equally important duty under international human rights law to ensure that, where abortion is lawful, access to abortion services – and to information on those services – is accessible in practice.

“We also need a women’s health service free of religious ethos to help overcome the climate of fear and stigma currently surrounding access to abortion in Ireland. We hope that the new arrangement will help to ensure that women are free to exercise their right to make autonomous decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.”