Abortion

Legislation creating protest-free 'safe access zones' around abortion providers has come into force. The Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Act 2024 was introduced by the government following a years-long campaign which also saw a similar private member's bill win wide su

A legal expert whose work paved the way for government legislation has welcomed the planned introduction of safe access zones around abortion providers next week. The Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Act 2024 will come into force from Thursday 17 October 2024.

Róisín McGrath examines the continuing barriers to abortion access nearly six years after the repeal of the Eighth Amendment. In 2018, Ireland voted by a majority of 66.4 per cent to repeal the Eighth Amendment (Art 40.3.3 Bunreacht na hÉireann), which legalised abortion up to 1

Major social media companies including Facebook, Instagram and TikTok may be failing to respect international human rights standards by removing abortion-related content on their platforms, according to Amnesty International. A new Amnesty report reveals how, since the 2022 US Supreme Court decision

Legislation banning anti-abortion protests within 100 metres of healthcare providers has been approved by the Oireachtas. The Health (Termination of Pregnancy) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023 will create 'safe access zones' of 100 metres from an entrance or exit to a premises where obstetricians/gynae

France is to enshrine the right to abortion in its constitution at a joint session of its parliament next week. The move, approved by the senate last night, would create a “guaranteed freedom” of women to choose an abortion.

There remain significant barriers to abortion access in Northern Ireland four years on from decriminalisation, according to a new report. Amnesty International's 159-page report, Legal but not local: Barriers to accessing abortion services in Northern Ireland, lays bare "the failures and wide-rangin

The imprisonment of a 45-year-old woman in England who admitted to causing her own abortion during the lockdowns was “unlikely” to be just, senior judges have said. Carla Foster was given a 28-month prison term after obtaining tablets when she was between 32 and 34 weeks pregnant.

A ban on anti-abortion protests outside abortion clinics in Northern Ireland will come into effect this Friday, the Department of Health has confirmed. All five health and social care trusts will introduce safe access zones on Friday 29 September 2023, as provided for by the Abortion Services (Safe

A woman who was sentenced to jail for unlawfully securing abortion tablets to terminate her own pregnancy will be released following a reduction of her sentence by Court of Appeal judges. The judges stated that the situation required "compassion, not punishment".

Anti-abortion protests will be banned outside abortion clinics in Northern Ireland by September 2023, the Department of Health has said. The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act (Northern Ireland) 2023 was one of the last pieces of legislation approved by MLAs shortly before the Northern Irelan

Plans to ban anti-abortion protests from taking place within 100 metres of healthcare providers have moved forward with the approval of the draft bill by ministers. This Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023 will deliver on a long-standing government commitment to

An English woman who took abortion pills beyond the 24-week statutory limit has been jailed for 14 months, sparking fresh calls for the decriminalisation of abortion in England and Wales. Carla Foster, a 44-year-old mother-of-three, pleaded guilty to the offence of administering poison with intent t

Legislation providing for the complete decriminalisation of abortion and the abolition of the mandatory three-day waiting period before an abortion can be carried out has cleared a major hurdle in the Dáil. The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) (Amendment) Bill 2023, introduced

Ministers have referred recommendations for legislative reform included in a review of abortion law by barrister Marie O'Shea BL to the Oireachtas joint committee on health for its consideration. Ms O’Shea was appointed last January to lead the second phase of the review required under section