Peadar Tóibín: 10,852 Abortions, Why the Three-Day Wait Must Stay
Peadar Tóibín addressed the Dáil to challenge moves to remove the three-day reflection period for abortion, citing 10,852 terminations last year and rising rates since 2018. He argued the increase is affecting the birth rate and criticised a review that he says failed to consult women who chose life.
Peadar Tóibín opens with the statistic that 10,852 abortions took place last year, the highest on record, and contrasts that figure with 2,879 in 2018. He links the surge to the 2018 deregulation of the law and warns the abortion rate is contributing to a collapsing birth rate alongside housing and cost-of-living pressures.
Tóibín defends the three-day reflection period, saying it has produced tangible outcomes: some 10,000 women attended a first appointment but did not return for a second, and thousands of children are alive as a result. He says the chair of the abortion review admitted she had not spoken to any woman who used the reflection period to decide to continue a pregnancy.
He raises the case of 'Baby Christopher', alleging wrongful termination at 16 weeks after a misdiagnosis, and uses it to argue the law has not followed up on such cases. Tóibín also highlights that many abortions are for socioeconomic reasons and says the bill under discussion contains no provisions for economic or housing support for mothers in need.
Tóibín challenges other parties, noting he has seen no evidence they have consulted women who chose to keep their children, and calls for those parties to accept democratic decisions while also addressing the social supports that influence reproductive choices.
Key facts and figures
Peadar Tóibín opens with the statistic that 10,852 abortions took place last year, the highest on record, and contrasts that figure with 2,879 in 2018. He links the surge to the 2018 deregulation of the law and warns the abortion rate is contributing to a collapsing birth rate alongside housing and cost-of-living pressures.
Evidence on the three-day wait
Tóibín defends the three-day reflection period, saying it has produced tangible outcomes: some 10,000 women attended a first appointment but did not return for a second, and thousands of children are alive as a result. He says the chair of the abortion review admitted she had not spoken to any woman who used the reflection period to decide to continue a pregnancy.
Concerns about errors and support for mothers
He raises the case of 'Baby Christopher', alleging wrongful termination at 16 weeks after a misdiagnosis, and uses it to argue the law has not followed up on such cases. Tóibín also highlights that many abortions are for socioeconomic reasons and says the bill under discussion contains no provisions for economic or housing support for mothers in need.
Political implications
Tóibín challenges other parties, noting he has seen no evidence they have consulted women who chose to keep their children, and calls for those parties to accept democratic decisions while also addressing the social supports that influence reproductive choices.
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Transcript
Go raibh míle maith agaibh, Cathaoirleach, last year there were 10,852 abortions in Ireland. That's the lives of 10,852 individual living human beings that were ended last year. And that's the highest figure on record. It's equivalent to 400 classrooms of children and it's absolutely heartbreaking. Now in 2018, there was 2,879 abortions and since that law was deregulated, the number of abortions in this country has surged. It's incredible, so high now is the rate of abortion in this state that it's affecting the birth rate. Now for sure the housing crisis and the cost of living crisis is also affecting the birth rate, but the birth rate is collapsing in part because of the high abortion rate in this country. Now abortion is a massive decision. It's irreversible. A child cannot be brought back and it also can lead to a lifetime of regret for the mother. And in the case of any big decision, reflection is key. There are very few elective procedures that can be done in the one day. You can't get a mole removed, you can't get cosmetic surgery or be sterilized without a wait to reflect. And we also know that the three day wait period is actually working for families. We know that 10,000 mothers have attended the first abortion meeting and they did not attend the second one. There are thousands of children alive today, in their homes today, as a result of that three day wait period. And when the abortion review was being discussed in the health committee in the last Dáil, I asked the chair of that review a direct and important question. I asked her before she recommended getting rid of the third or the three day wait, had she spoken to one woman who had decided to keep her child and take those three days to reflect? And she admitted that she had not spoken to one woman who had taken that time. That's an incredible admission and it completely undermines the evidence nature of the actual review itself. One in six mothers who attended their first abortion appointment did not attend the second one. And I have no evidence that the Sock Dems or any other political party here have spoken to those women in this country to ask them what is their view about the three day wait. I also want to talk about the so-called chilling effect in terms of criminal penalties. That is a fiction in this country. The opposite is actually the case. Baby Christopher was a fully healthy unborn child. His life was terminated at 16 weeks gestation. His parents were wrongly told that he had a fetal fatal abnormality and it was not an accident. This wasn't a mistaken diagnosis in this situation. Their child was taken from them. There has been no efforts by the law or this government to follow up in any way in relation to that. And baby Christopher is not unique. Many other women and mothers have lost their children in similar situations. 85% of mothers have abortions for socioeconomic reasons. There is nothing in this bill to provide economic support to mothers so that they can raise their children to their full potential. There are dozens of women giving birth in this country homeless. There is nothing in this bill to provide support to those mothers who need a home. We were told eight years ago to accept the democratic will of the people. I would ask these parties to do the same.